Differential
by ChronicallyChill
Summary: There was a push and pull, a push and pull, between the two of them. There was a safety in the "push" but something just kept "pulling" and d pulling… A SasuSaku College AU, originally posted on my AO3 account tomaday
1. Stuck

**Disclaimer: **This story will utilize characters and situations that are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media. pain-somnia is in no way associated with the creator or producers of Naruto and no copyright infringement is intended. Obviously this is a fanfic meant solely for the entertainment of the fanfic author and (hopefully) it's readers.

* * *

**Chapter One: Stuck**

Sasuke's memories of home were filled with swirls of colors. Hues of pink and spring green would become mottled amongst the comforting earthy tones his mother favored.

Annoyingly bright green and soft pink.

One of the things Sasuke had looked forward to about college was the reprieve he would get from seeing that particular pink and that particular green. He believed he was going to be able to avoid _her_ all he wanted.

But alas the universe didn't align in his favor. It seemed there was no escaping Sakura Haruno.

* * *

_Chocolate chip cookies. His least favorite. Sasuke hated anything sweet and preferred ginger snap which had more spice than sugar in it's flavoring, especially the way his mother made them just for him._

_But these cookies weren't for him. They were for the new neighbors and Mikoto Uchiha needed a "neutral" cookie. Something that would assure friendly relations with the only neighbors that shared a fence with the Uchihas._

"_Oh, Sasuke," Mikoto groaned. She licked her thumb and bent down to wipe her six year old's face. "We can't go see the neighbors with dirty faces."_

_Sasuke wrinkled his nose and tried to squirm out of his mother's grasp. He didn't even want to go see the new neighbors and now he was covered in mom spit._

"_Okay, one last check." Mikoto patted her hair and twirled in front of the mirror in the foyer. Sasuke had no idea why his mother was so worried. She was always pretty. "Itachi!"_

"_He went out with Shisui and Izumi while you were getting changed," Sasuke explained. His brows furrowed as he pouted. He had wanted to go play with his older brother but he had refused to take him and Shisui had called him "Squirt" again._

"_I wish that child would ask me before he left the house," Mikoto grumbled. Sasuke's mouth twitched as he held back from giggling. His mother was always complaining about how it was "too early for Itachi's rebellious phase." She sighed and took hold of Sasuke's hand. "Come on. Let's go meet the Harunos. I hear they have a child that's your age."_

_At that Sasuke straightened up, now alert and eager to meet the new family. There weren't any kids around his age in the neighborhood and the only kid he ever met outside of school was Naruto, his mother's best friend's son, and he irritated Sasuke to no end._

_If there was a kid living next door then Sasuke wouldn't have to wait around for Itachi to come home to play. Maybe he could even have a close friend like how Itachi was with Shisui and Izumi. Except not with a girl. Girls didn't play the same games. And they giggled a lot. At least Izumi giggled a lot._

_Mikoto took a deep breath and knocked on the door frame. The door was open wide as the neighbors were currently moving in the last of their boxes. They had started moving all of their furniture in at the crack of dawn according to Fugaku which horrified Sasuke. Who woke up that early?_

"_Bakers," was his father's curt response. There was an amused glint in his eyes when he looked at Mikoto who shared Itachi's love of sweets. Sasuke's mother had blushed and smiled knowingly at her husband. Sasuke gagged at the weirdness of his flirty parents. No one but he and Itachi would recognize the small amount of teasing as such but it was still a lot for him to handle_

_A kind faced blonde woman, slightly taller than his mother, came to the door and greeted them. As Mikoto offered the cookies and spoke to the woman Sasuke tried to peek inside the house in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the woman's son._

"_Say hello to Ms. Haruno, Sasuke." Mikoto gently pushed Sasuke toward Ms. Haruno._

"_Hello Ms. Haruno."_

"_You can call me Mebuki." Mebuki smiled at him softly as she ruffled his feathery hair. "Would you like to come in for some tea? You can meet━"_

"_Mama? Have you seen my doll? I can't find her."_

_A small child with the strangest pale pink hair and the biggest green eyes he had ever seen approached the front door. She spotted Sasuke and his mother and hid behind Mebuki's leg. She peered around her mother's body and smiled shyly at their guests._

"_And who is this cutie?" Mikoto gushed, bending down to the child's eye level. "Hello, sweetie. My name is Mikoto and you are?"_

_The girl giggled and pushed her face into the back of her mother's thigh._

"_This is Sakura." Mebuki patted her daughter's head. She maneuvered her leg and pushed Sakura forward. "Come on Kura, say hello. I'm sorry. She's really shy with strangers."_

"_Oh, what a fitting name! I think she's sweet."_

"_She's a girl," Sasuke said flatly. He wasn't as excited as his mother was and it was obvious from the way his brows pulled forward and a scowl settled on his face. As soon as he saw the soft, pink hair and the big green eyes he was filled with disappointment. The feeling settled even stronger when she giggled. Why were girls always giggling?_

"_Yes, Sasuke. And such a cute girl." Mikoto tried to cover up for her son's attitude but the damage had been done. Sakura's smile deflated and her eyes glazed over._

"_I'm going to go look for my doll." Sakura rushed back inside her house. Not stopping as her mother called after her._

"_I'm sorry," Mebuki apologized, shifting from one foot to the other nervously. "We've been having issues with her getting along with other kids and making friends. She was excited to meet someone new. I might have set her hopes too high…"_

"_Poor thing…" Mikoto mumbled. After a beat she brightened up and cheerfully suggested, "Why don't we set up a playdate? I know that Sasuke is disappointed right now but I'm sure after hanging out a few times they will enjoy each other's company."_

What? _Sasuke looked up at his mother, horrified. How could she sacrifice her own son like that? Sasuke didn't want to play with some sugary, pink haired girl._

_Mikoto narrowed her eyes at Sasuke and he pouted, turning his eyes downcast to his feet._

_Sasuke already knew he wasn't going to like this Sakura girl. She was being forced on him by his own mother. Turning his mother against him was her first offense. He could tell that she was just going to keep being a problem._

* * *

Sasuke let out a sigh and glared at the stop light. He had been driving for what seemed like forever and he just wanted to crawl into his comfy bed. After spending weeks using the small dorm bed he just wanted to lie down and spread his body out as much as possible.

A soft sigh from the passenger seat had him turning his head to his sleeping passenger.

Somehow in her sleep, Sakura had slid her hand under her sweater and lifted the top up enough to reveal her flat, pale stomach. The jewel on her belly ring sparkled and drew his gaze to the dip of her bellybutton and down to the waistline of her jeans. The jewel flashed at him as her stomach rose and fell with her breathing.

Sasuke caught himself staring too much and grabbed his hoodie from the backseat and tossed it over her. Scowling, he crossed his arms over the steering wheel of his car and leaned against it, careful not to add so much pressure that the horn would go off.

He would have preferred to have taken the trip from their university alone but his mother was so insistent that Sasuke bring Sakura home with him whenever he visited. Sakura and his parents had become really close friends over the years and were always spending holidays together and helping each other out.

Sakura didn't have her own car and Fugaku had offered to have Sasuke drive her to and from college since they both attended Konoha University, located two hours away in the capital of their state. Considering they were both going home the same week for Fall Break, it made no sense for Sakura to take the bus back to their hometown.

It was thirteen years later and Sasuke Uchiha couldn't escape Sakura Haruno no matter how much he tried. It seemed the universe and his parents were always tying them together in some way.

Putting it simply, he was stuck with her.

* * *

**Day's Notes:** hello! If you also read fics on AO3 this fic may look very familiar and that's because I also post fics there under the username tomaday. I originally wasn't going to share this fic on fanfic but I have changed my mind. I hope you enjoy~


	2. Frustrating

**Chapter Two: Frustrating**

The Harunos were a small family. Mebuki was a foster child and Kizashi was the only child and his parents had passed away when Sakura was younger so holidays had once been a small affair.

That had all changed when they met Mikoto Uchiha.

Mikoto had insisted on inviting them to every holiday event and Sakura's parents couldn't say no to her. Sakura didn't think anyone could say no to her when she smiled so sweetly at them. After a while it became tradition that the Harunos and Uchihas celebrated together. The Uzumaki-Namikaze family would usually join them if Minato Namikaze didn't have some sort of function his family needed to attend.

Which was why Sakura was currently standing in the middle of the Uchiha's family room dressed in a semi-formal sweater dress cradling a mug that wasn't filled with tea.

"You're not fooling anyone," Sasuke scoffed, standing next to her by the fireplace with his arms crossed. Sakura snuck a glance at his forearms, cursing his habit of rolling up his sleeves to his elbows.

_No one is supposed to look that good in a sweater vest_.

Sakura just rolled her eyes and offered her mug which he accepted and took a swig of it's contents. The two of them had been sneaking drinks at family functions since they were sixteen. The only person that knew of it was Shisui who had offered them their first taste of alcohol. The only other person their age and a minor at these events was Naruto but he couldn't handle his liquor and would have ended up face down in his dinner if they let him have any so they had to keep it a secret from him as well or he would out all three of them.

"Alright everyone," Mikoto sang out cheerfully. "Time for dinner."

She and Izumi and Mebuki were carrying out the last of the dishes to the table while everyone else filed into their seats. Sakura took her seat between Sasuke and Shisui, the seat she always had since they joined the adult table at Thanksgiving.

"So how does it feel to be back at school?" Fugaku directed his question to both of the teens who had just come back home after starting their third semester, second year at KU.

"It's great. My studies keep me so busy but I wouldn't have it any other way. It will all be worth it when I stay on the Dean's List," Sakura replied with a polite smile. She continued to beam at everyone as she stomped on Sasuke's foot after he made a derisive sound under his breath.

Her answer was genuine despite whatever Sasuke thought. He was always accusing her of being a suck up and trying to please everybody, especially the adults in their families. Yes, she liked making them happy and proud of her but she wasn't going to lie to them to get the results she wanted.

She was a horrible liar anyway according to her best friend Ino. Although what Ino usually accused her of lying about wasn't about her study habits.

Sakura tightened her hold on her arms so that they were drawn closer to her body. With so many people sitting around the table it was hard to keep herself from brushing her arm against Sasuke's arm. Hard to keep herself from feeling the heat that radiated off of his body and the firmness of his muscles.

It was unfair. She was suppose to be above being affected by physical appearances. She was suppose to be above crushing on her next door neighbor.

Sasuke Uchiha frustrated her. It was such an odd relationship. The two were always trying to one up each other. Sure Naruto was his rival when it came to sports and growing up they had━mostly one sided on Naruto's part━stupid competitions but the only one their families acknowledged as his rival was Sakura even though it wasn't intentional.

It was mainly due to the fact that Sasuke cared about academics more than extracurriculars.

_Still...you don't get guns like those from sitting behind and staring at a computer screen._

Sakura took a gulp of water, sneaking a glance downward, her pale lashes hiding the way her eyes turned downcast to take in the contours of Sasuke's hands as he gripped his fork and glass. He always had such nice hands. Large and strong with a delicate touch that he used to build computers and a range of other things she couldn't wrap her head around.

Sakura's focus was moved up to his face as Sasuke used the hand she was watching to push his black, rectangular framed glasses up the bridge of his nose. Sasuke noticed her gaze on him and raised an eyebrow. Sakura glared at him and then turned away, attempting to be swayed away by whatever it was that Shisui was explaining to her father.

Yes, Sasuke Uchiha frustrated her.

"Oh Mebuki, I must show you the mirror that Sasuke made me. It's so fascinating. I can get ready for my day and it displays the time, weather reports, and even the news for me. This morning it told me 'Good Morning Mikoto' as soon as I approached it and leaves blew across the surface to show it was windy outside! It was so cute."

"So that's what the nerd brought home," Shisui laughed, reaching around Sakura to playfully punch Sasuke in the arm.

And suddenly the conversation was about Sasuke. He didn't contribute, just continued eating and acting completely unaffected by the praise from everyone at the table as they discussed how he had made the Smart Mirror for his mother. He only bothered to answer questions from his father when Fugaku forgot a step that Sasuke had previously explained.

Sakura huffed, resting her chin on her fist, as Sasuke made something she would never have been able to figure out sound like it was as easy as learning to tie one's laces. They both came home with almost perfect scores on their recent tests and papers, but Sasuke also showed up with a fancy mirror that he programmed for his mother. Typical.

* * *

Sakura was curled up on her couch with her laptop going over lecture notes when her mother started calling her name.  
"Yes?" Sakura shouted back from her spot without looking away from her laptop screen. Her mother remained quiet, refusing to respond. Sakura groaned and set her laptop aside. Her mother wasn't going to tell her what she wanted until she joined her in the kitchen.

"Yes?" Sakura questioned but as soon as she entered the kitchen her mother thrust a wooden crate filled with ingredients into her hands.

"Mikoto really liked the pumpkin cream cheese roulade we took over the other day and wanted to make it for her in-laws. I have to go help your father in the shop today so I need you to go and help her make it."

"But I━"

"No buts." Mebuki raised a finger up and narrowed her eyes at Sakura. "All you've done is look through your notes and books. It's supposed to be a break, now get out of the house."

Sakura slipped on her fur lined boots and marched across the shared yard over to the Uchihas. She set the crate down and rang the doorbell.

After a moment of waiting the door swung open but instead of the pretty older woman, Sakura was at eye level with a minimalist circuit board tattoo on a defined left pectoral.

_Really? I know he's home but does he have to be shirtless?_

"Are you going to say something?" Sasuke crossed his arms in front of his chest which caused his muscles to become more pronounced. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. There was no way he wasn't doing that on purpose.

"I'm here to bake with your mother."

"Of course you are." Sasuke bent down and lifted the crate Sakura had brought over. Without another word to her he turned to walk back into his house, leaving Sakura a good view of the defined muscles on his back.

He was just so _frustrating_.


	3. Dangerous

**Chapter Three: Dangerous**

Sometimes being stuck in a semi dark room with loud blaring music got old. Playing the genius got old. Pretending that he didn't need escapes got old.

Ever the night owl, Sasuke wouldn't go to bed until the hazy blue light of the false dawn illuminated the campus grounds.

He liked the emptiness of that strange period of time. Liked roaming the liminal space of pre-dawn KU.

Liked being the only person in the universe for a brief moment.

But that wasn't exactly true. He wasn't exactly alone.

In the hazy glow of blue, Sakura's rose gold hair looked more lavender. Even as she ran the haziness made her appear softer than she already was. A softness that caused him to forgive her intrusion into his time alone with the universe.

For he may be a night owl, but she was still an early bird.

* * *

_Sighing, Sasuke removed his glasses and rubbed at his tired eyes. It was another late night but the lack of circuit boards and wires on his bedroom floor was worth it, knowing he completed a job._

_Building computers for his friends' friends who had the money for it was something he enjoyed so the exhaustion was never unwelcome._

_The extra cash wasn't unwelcome either. He was seventeen and every little bit that could go toward his college fund was worth the late nights. Even if that did mean he would only have a few hours of sleep before class_

_Slipping his glasses back on, Sasuke made to put away his tools. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a light come on across the yard._

_The house next door was completely different than the Spanish Revival three bedroom the Uchihas lived in. A cute little cottage style house that somehow matched perfectly with the seventeen year old girl exiting it at the moment._

_It was typical that as soon as he was ready to finally go to sleep, that Sakura Haruno was rising and starting her day. A daughter of bakers she was always up before the sun, even on school days when she wouldn't be helping out in the bakery._

_Sasuke watched as she stretched her arms over her head as she walked down the stone path leading to her driveway, activating the motion detecting lights that lined the path._

_He took a glance at his watch and rolled his eyes._

_Sakura was the only person he knew that would get up at three in the morning, when the rest of the world was asleep, for a run._

* * *

Sakura's long ponytail bounced behind her with each of her steps. Sasuke's eyes trailed the strands of hair as they swished back and forth, then followed the curve of her spine down to a pert, round bottom. For someone that hated the cold she sure didn't mind wearing tiny lycra running shorts in December.

Sasuke pounded his feet harder against the pavement, moving his legs to go faster. Anything to get him ahead of her.

He easily breezed by her, he had always been faster, more athletic, despite being a tech nerd and Sakura being a health nut.

"Hey!" Sakura called after him.

He ignored her, willing himself to keep pushing forward and not turn around to see her flushed face and little pink mouth panting. Her front was probably more dangerous than her back.

"Could have at least warned me you were coming up on my right, Sasuke!"

Ignoring the heat rushing up his neck, Sasuke smirked to himself.

Funny how she was able to recognize him even with the hood of his sweatshirt up.

* * *

Sakura groaned in frustration as she slumped onto the communal area couch. One of her seven suitemates that she was actually friends with, Karin Uzumaki, was already sitting there holding a mug of coffee and staring blankly into space.

Sakura groaned again until Karin started petting her head absentmindedly.

"Remind me again why we decided to take eight o'clock classes?" Karin asked, russet eyes widening in horror.

"Don't bitch where Ino can hear you. Semester's almost over and you haven't made any complaints so far. She won't let you live it down if she was right that you couldn't handle it."

"I can't believe you went running and then to the gym. I don't think I'm even alive right now." Karin took a swig of her coffee and then blinked owlishly. "You think I can get away with leaving the dorm without makeup? My eyebrows are a fucking mess."

"Karin. You're gorgeous, shut up. _I'm_ the one with a real crisis."

Sakura grabbed one of the throw pillows they had bought and smothered her face. She grumbled against it until Karin pinched her thigh.

"I'm not going to strain to hear you. If you want to complain you have to make your words intelligible."

"I can't even go on a run without him showing up!"

"_Oohhh_." Karin's eyes refocused and she grinned slyly at her. "Your hottie neighbor."

"Don't call him that."

"A hottie is a hottie. What's wrong? No time to rub one out before class?"

"Karin!"

"Some of us are trying to sleep!" Ino's voice came muffled through the closed door of Sakura and hers shared room. Karin snickered and drained the rest of her coffee. She smacked her lips, content with how she felt after her first cup of the day.

"You should just fuck him and get it over with. That's what I would do." Sakura's jade eyes widened in mortification as Karin stood up and stretched. "And go take a shower. You stink."

Sakura lifted her collar and took a whiff, nose wrinkling in disgust. Karin was right. She smelled ripe after her workout. As quiet as possible, she made her way into her room and grabbed her shower caddie and towel. Making sure to lock the opposite door to her other suitemates' bedroom, she started up the shower.

Despite not having enough time to blow dry her hair, Sakura scrubbed her hair with her apple scented shampoo. She let the warm water run down her body, enjoying the heat. She hummed contently and closed her eyes.

Sakura didn't have any classes with Sasuke this semester and it wasn't looking likely that they would share any in the Spring semester. Although that was the case, it wasn't that hard for them to run into each other.

Konoha University was a private campus on the outskirts of the nation's capital. It wasn't a small campus but it was a pretty remote area where the students were pretty enclosed unless they wished to step off campus to the city.

It wasn't small and it wasn't large but if one knew what they were looking for they would find it with ease.

And Sakura found Sasuke with ease usually.

_I shouldn't be able to identify him using his backside. No matter how nice it is…_

"There's something severely wrong with me," Sakura groaned. She leaned her head against the shower wall and grumbled to herself.

"Yeah there is. You're talking to yourself again."

"Ino! W-what are you doing in here?"

"I had to pee, duh. Sorry if I interrupted your, uh, _alone _time."

"I wasn't doing anything!"

"Riiiight. Sure you weren't."

"Get out!"

"See that makes me think I really did interrupt your━"

"Out!"

* * *

Sasuke had to hold back from groaning when he noticed the lump on his roommate's bed. He was usually missing all night and day but occasionally he would remember where his parents were paying for him to live while he was at school.

It was a good thing Sasuke had finished all of his work that was due before his run because working without music wasn't something he wanted to do.

Sasuke lifted his arm and sniffed himself, grimacing at the smell. A shower was due before he hit the sack.

Not really caring if he woke his roommate or not, Sasuke grabbed his shower caddie and towel and headed off to the shower just outside of his room. He was glad he chose apartment style and the other two roommates that shared the room on the opposite side had their own bathroom. He practically had his own considering his roommate was almost never in their dorm.

Sasuke let the hot water run over his body, rolling his neck and shoulders. He shouldn't have run so far after his workout at the gym. After running past Sakura he had made his way off campus and ran throughout the city until he noticed the rising sun. He forgot to take his fare card with him and ended up having to run back to campus. Sasuke had wanted to make it back before students were stumbling to class but he pushed himself too far.

A massage would have been amazing. His sore muscles were practically whispering into his ear, pleading him to call Sakura. She had taken a Sports Medicine elective course when they were in high school and had enjoyed practicing therapeutic massages on whoever was willing to allow her to place her hands on them. She had helped assist the school trainers with the student athletes when they had injuries.

Sasuke had to admit that Sakura was more than decent when it came to comfort and care. Whenever he needed to visit the trainers he preferred Sakura's help. Her soft hands always found every knot and relaxed him better than any hot bath could.

_Would she have time before her morning class to come over…?_

Sasuke frowned. Sakura would drop everything if it meant she could hold something like this over his head. She loved being helpful, especially if it meant she could show him up somehow. Sakura would give him a smug look that said "Ha! You need me. I can do something you can't."

He also wouldn't doubt that she would show up in her little shorts and the combination of a skimpy outfit and a massage would be even more dangerous than just watching as her muscles flexed and her bottom jiggled as she ran.

Just imagining it was making him bang his forehead against the shower wall. It caused a _problem_ to spring up and it was something he thought he was done and over with. This is why he had hoped to get away from Sakura Haruno when he got accepted to college.

Sasuke slid his eyes shut. He could attempt to will his problem away but the more _traditional_ method would be more successful. Huffing out a breath of air, Sasuke wrapped his hand around his _problem_ and he hissed at the contact.

It was safer to just allow himself to feel but with each downward stroke his mind conjured up Sakura and her soft hands. He could almost feel the sensation of her hands roaming his body.

This wasn't the first time Sakura starred in these little sessions when he was alone and wanting. Wasn't the first time he was reminded of how he wouldn't mind throwing her down and making her just as frustrated as she made him.

Sakura was probably the type that hated to be dominated, preferring to top. An image of her smirking down at him, bare and bold, flashed across his mind. Sasuke groaned at the thought. He wouldn't have minded that at all. It was a win-win scenario. She loved to please anyway and it would be a great angle to look at her.

Yes, he wouldn't mind that at all.

"Dude!"

Banging on the bathroom door had Sasuke freezing up.

"How much longer? Some of us need to use the bathroom too!"

Growling low to himself, Sasuke banged his head one more time against the shower wall and shut off the water. He couldn't have his roommate finding out what he was doing in the shower. It would be absolutely humiliating.

_The stupid things she makes me do..._

Sakura Haruno was dangerous.


	4. Sleeping Arrangements

**Chapter Four: Sleeping Arrangements**

The last place she expected to see Sasuke was in the library.

It was stupid really considering they both attended the same university and would both need to show up in the library at some point in the semester if not multiple times.

She just hadn't expected to see him in the stacks at one in the morning.

She knew he was a night owl but she also knew he preferred the quiet of his room away from the rest of the world.

Away from her.

Sakura shuffled past him, pressing her notebook against her chest as if it would will the beating of her heart to quiet. Maybe he wouldn't notice that she was there.

She could just hear Karin berating her for the missed opportunity.

There was something about the isolation of the stacks at this hour at night that made Sakura's imagination run wild. And she had always had a rather vivid imagination.

How good the Sasuke of her imagination looked, with his eyebrows drawn down in frustration and glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. One hand covering his mouth to stifle his moans and the other buried in her hair as she took him in her mouth.

Sakura swallowed hard and rest her forehead against a row of books. Why did it have to be _Sasuke _that she thought about?

Sakura peered through the gap of space between the books and the next shelf up.

Sasuke was in the middle of turning a page of the book he had just pulled down. Sakura watched in fascination at the gentle cradle of the book. At the way his strong hands spread to hold the book comfortable, the muscles and veins clearly defined in the act.

_We're not here for that,_ she chided herself.

Sakura had planned to be asleep but Ino had invited the boy from Konoha Institute College of Art and so she escaped the dorm. Not even hiding out in the communal area of the suite was far away enough from the sounds being emitted.

If Karin's roommate wasn't so vile she would have taken the empty bed. Karin didn't need it because she was out "tutoring" one of the KU swimmers for the past 3 days with no return. Even when she was in their dorm she didn't sleep in her bed choosing to cuddle with either Ino or Sakura.

Anything to get away from her roommate.

Sakura would have complained earlier about the evening arrangements but she knew exactly what would happen.

Ino would just taunt her about her single status and how she would loosen up a little if she would only just go and get laid every once in a while. She would then bring it up to Karin later who would remind Sakura that she didn't need a boyfriend in order to have sex.

But it wasn't as if she were waiting to be in a relationship. Sakura had just ruined it for herself by building up all of her sexual fantasies surrounding a specific individual.

Sure she could go and experience it all in reality but none of it would ever top the daydream she was currently having of her neighbor using the same hand to hold his book to clamp over her mouth as she braced herself against the bookshelves and he panted in her ear.

"Fuck."

Sakura clamped her hand over mouth. The word had slipped out and sounded breathier than she would have liked. She was at a dead end and had nowhere to hide, so when the sound of approaching footsteps got closer she hid her face in a book.

The clearing of a throat had her sliding the book down so she could peer over it.

Sasuke towered over her, arms crossed in front of his chest and frowning down at her through his glasses, an eyebrow raised.

_Am I about to be punished?_

The errant thought passed through her mind before she could reign it back.

_God there's something wrong with me._

"Why would you need a book on optoelectronics?"

"Opto-what?" Sakura frowned and took a better look at the book she had grabbed. She really grabbed a book irrelevant to what she was researching. She had been so distracted that she had walked into the wrong row.

"I don't," Sakura mumbled, sliding the book back in its place.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked up at him. _Sleep?_

The end of the semester was approaching. On top of papers that were due, Sakura had exams to study for and she was the person that always overloaded her credits.

"I took a two hour nap on Thursday?"

"Go back to your dorm."

Sakura snapped out of her daze at the order. It was said out of interest for her health but she couldn't get over the bossy tone Sasuke used. How typical of him to tell her to do something he wouldn't do himself.

"You go back to your dorm," Sakura snarked back. She turned on her heel and walked into the proper section.

"How did you mistake a book for a microform?" Sasuke had followed her, ignoring the fact that she gave him attitude.

"I'm just a little tired." Sakura refused to look at him, cheeks flushing with heat. She was more than a little tired. Which probably explained why it was so easy for her mind to drift off.

"Then go to sleep."

"I can't sleep on that couch."

"Why would you be sleeping on the couch?"

"Ino," Sakura replied with a sheepish grin. "She has a guest."

Sasuke didn't look very amused by her reason. He stared down at her long enough to make her uncomfortable. Sakura shifted her gaze away from him but she could still feel his eyes on her.

"Let's go."

Sakura almost dropped the envelope of microfiches she was absentmindedly rifling through. She wasn't even completely sure what it was that she originally entered the stacks for.

"Go? Go where?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Sakura's eyes widened and she bit down on her lower lip.

It was a bad time to remember how much larger he was than her. His hand completely wrapped itself around her wrist.

He hadn't always been so much taller than she was. Or his fingers so much larger. She recalled being thirteen and pressing her palm right up against his and comparing their sizes. They were always a perfect match but that year his fingers were marginally bigger, the tiniest sliver of flesh peeking around her slim fingers.

"To my dorm. So you can sleep."

Tugging on her wrist, he gently led her past all of the rows and and up the few steps to the first floor of the library. Instead of dropping her wrist, he continued to lead her out into the crisp winter air.

There was nothing rough about how he held her but it remained firm and sure.

Like it always was.

* * *

"_There's nothing to cry about."_

_Sakura sniffled, glaring through the tears welling up on her lower lash line. She could barely make out Sasuke's blurry form._

_With the force he used to yank on his hoodie sleeves he almost dragged Sakura towards him when he tied them around her waist. Sakura continued to sniffle as he made sure his sweater was secure and wouldn't fall from around her slim hips._

_Sakura was eleven and her menstrual cycle was unpredictable. Her mother had warned her about wearing white shorts but Ino had wanted to wear matching outfits for their field trip._

"_I-I'm going to b-bleed on your hoodie," her words came out a blubbering mess. She wiped at her eyes with the heels of her palms._

"_It's just clothes." Sasuke took hold of her wrist and tugged her forward, away from her hiding spot in the dark corner of the planetarium. "Let's go find Yamanaka. She should have found you a pad by now."_

_Ignoring the wolf whistles of a few of their classmates and their jeering, he held onto her wrist in a gentle but firm hold. He guided her through the museum until he heard Ino's shouting and calls for Sakura._

_He walked with them to the restroom, never letting go until Ino took her inside._

* * *

Sakura closed the bathroom door behind her and peered into Sasuke's room. He had handed her a change of clothes and directed her to the restroom where she could have some privacy as he cleared up space on his bed.

His half of his room was neat and in order and overall plain, completely different from the cluttered knick knacks she used to decorate the dorm room she shared with Ino. But then again Sasuke had taken over the communal area of his apartment style dorm.

"Fixing computers and laptops again?"

Sasuke was sitting on the edge of the couch, a laptop with it's system board exposed on the coffee table. He was surrounded by different computer parts and a couple of laptops and system units with sticky notes on them.

"People are constantly breaking them and it costs a shit ton to get them fixed. For a small fee I can take a look and see what needs fixing and take care of it. I need the cash and they don't need to waste their time getting ripped off."

"These things make me feel like an idiot." Sakura took a seat next to him and lifted up a circular disk. "What does this do?"

"It's a cooling fan. It was working harder than it needed to." Sasuke took the fan from her and clicked it into place. "The heatsink needed cleaning. If they took it into a repair shop they would have made them pay to replace the whole thing instead of just cleaning it out."

"Heatsink?"

"Yeah. People don't realize you gotta clean that out and then their laptop will overheat and shut down on them."

Sakura watched as he screwed the cooling fan back in place and covered the motherboard up and screw everything shut.

"You're supposed to be sleeping."

_Aren't you supposed to be sleeping with me?_

Sakura stood up abruptly, face burning from the embarrassment. Her brain really needed to stop producing all of those inappropriate thoughts.

"Um, but where are you going to sleep?"

"I won't be. I have work to get done. And if I get tired I can always use my roommates bed. Not like he uses it."

"Oh. Well, then. Good night!" Sakura awkwardly shuffled into his room and climbed onto his bed. She had a step stool to assist in climbing on her own bed but Sasuke was over half a foot taller than she was and had nothing like that.

She had to pull herself up and practically rolled the rest of the way on. Kicking the sheets around her she bundled herself up. It wasn't until she pulled the blankets up to her chin that she noticed the crocheted throw Mikoto Uchiha had made for her son.

_Warm…_

Sakura buried her face into the sheets, the comforting smell of the familiar fabric softener the Uchiha family used relaxing her. It was the smell of Sasuke. The smell of home.

* * *

When Karin crawled into her bed she always dug her nose between Sakura's shoulder blades. Sakura would whine when her bony knees pressed too hard against her legs but with some shuffling she could always adjust Karin's hold on her.

That was usually the case except the arm around her waist was too muscular to be Karin's thin arm and there was a pressure on top of her head instead of in between her shoulder blades.

Blinking open her eyes, Sakura was met with a blank wall instead of the blinds of her window.

_This isn't my bed!_

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut tight and gathered her memories of the night before. She had been kicked out of her room by Ino and the guy from KICA. She went to the library where she ran into Sasuke. Where she ran into Sasuke!

Sakura exhaled a breath of relief as she recalled Sasuke dragging her back to his dorm so that she could finally get some sleep. She must have been more tired than she had thought if she hadn't noticed Sasuke sneaking into his own bed.

Carefully, Sakura rolled onto her back and shifted so she could face him. There was a small grumble, a whine from the back of Sasuke's throat but he didn't open his eyes. He only relaxed his hold to give her more room to move.

_Shit._

Sakura watched as Sasuke's eyelashes fluttered delicately. The lashes on the lower line were slightly longer than the upper and they meshed together at the outer corners. Her eyes followed the path of his cheekbones to his well defined jaw. He really needed a shave.

_Ew._ Sakura wrinkled her nose and bit back a giggle. _Morning breath._

A gurgle broke the even pattern of Sasuke's breathing and his hand clutched the back of the shirt Sakura borrowed. Sakura let herself be pulled closer and Sasuke's leg slid between her thighs. Sasuke settled his chin on top of her head again and his breathing returned to it's normal steady pace, a content sigh falling from his lips.

_Ah, crap._

Sakura sighed and pressed her face against Sasuke's chest.

It was no use avoiding the reason why she couldn't do what Karin had suggested to her and why Ino's comments about denial bothered her so much.

But for now all she was going to do was sleep.


	5. Matcha Tea and Polka Dots

**Chapter Five: Matcha Tea and Polka Dots**

There was always this haziness when he woke up. He would be bleary eyed and the world would stay out of focus.

Upon waking up his vision was flooded with blurs of pink and dark gray.

He scrunched his eyes shut as they hurt when he tried to see without his glasses for too long. He ran his right hand down his face and sighed at the numb sensation of his left arm.

The dorm bed was barely big enough for him so the inclusion of another body had him and Sakura practically on top of each other.

Sakura sighed in her sleep, her breath puffing out onto his neck, causing a tingle to run down his spine.

Great. That was just what he needed.

Sasuke rolled so that he could twist his body away from Sakura, keep her away from parts of himself that were aching. With a sigh he tucked himself into the waistband of his boxer briefs and flannel pajama bottoms. Luckily Sakura hadn't woken up because he was poking her.

Sasuke peered through his lashes, squinting his eyes to see the sleeping girl.

Such a silly, _annoying_ girl.

Sakura was so defenseless and it irritated him to no end. It was like he didn't register in her mind as someone that could potentially have any sexual interest in her.

It was a Saturday but it was still strange for Sakura to still be sleeping. She hadn't been joking when she said she had only taken a nap within the past few days. Sasuke wouldn't have minded letting her sleep but his arm was numb and her warmth and the subtle fruity scent wafting from her hair was getting to be too much for him.

Nap time when they were five was nothing like this.

Just like when he was five and Sakura squirmed too close to him, he took her nose between the knuckles of his index and middle fingers and squeezed. A second later Sakura was awake and gasping for air, arms flailing.

"Really Sasuke? Really?"

Sakura had scooted closer to the wall and he was able to pull his arm out from under her. Finally free, Sasuke climbed out of bed and grabbed his glasses from his desk.

"My shower caddy." Sasuke pulled out his blue plastic bin from the bottom of his tiny wardrobe and dumped it on his bed. "If you want to wash up."

Without waiting for a response to the offer, Sasuke shuffled out of his room and to the dorm kitchenette. He started the electric kettle and placed a saucepan on the stovetop. Grabbing his almond milk from the fridge he shared with his roommates he set it to boil while he rummaged the cabinets for his matcha powder.

As soon as he heard the water begin to simmer he turned off the kettle. Matcha being his favorite type of tea he had worked out how long water needed to heat up in his electric kettle in order for it to be the appropriate temperature.

Taking out his only two mugs he dropped a teaspoon of matcha each and measured out about two ounces of hot water onto the powder. Turning off the stovetop he carefully poured the milk into the mugs of matcha.

Rummaging through the cabinets he grabbed the bear shaped bottle of honey he knew belonged to one of his roommates and squirted out a dollop into one of the mugs.

"You know," Sakura shuffled into the kitchen area, "if you're going to offer a chance for a shower, you should also give someone a towel."

"Here." Sasuke finished whisking both of the teas and handed her the sweeter one of the two.

"What? No coffee?" Sakura mused as she gingerly grabbed the hot mug, covering her hands with the long sleeves. "What kind of college student are you?"

"You don't like coffee."

"True." Sakura sighed after taking a sip of warm tea. "But just like the towel, you should have coffee too. It's like you never have girls over."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. Sakura was looking up at him expectantly over the brim of her mug.

How was he supposed to take that comment? Was she actually curious about his sex life?

_I'm not acknowledging that._

Sasuke shuffled past her and went straight back to work on the broken laptops he had to get done before winter break.

He had completed most of the work during the night when he tried to avoid his bedroom.

Sasuke didn't plan on joining Sakura in bed. His original plan was to use his roommate's bunk but the man was unpredictable yet again and had decided to use his own bed that night.

And although the dorm beds were uncomfortable even with the mattress topper, the living room couch was worse.

Sasuke wasn't going to hurt his back sleeping on that couch.

He had climbed into bed, too tired to consider any consequence of sharing the same bed. What did it matter? They were childhood friends that had shared their beds multiple times.

The fact that they had stopped sharing sleeping space when puberty hit them was besides the point.

_Why am I thinking so much about that?_

Sasuke peered at Sakura, who hopped on to the counter, from his peripheral.

_It's not like she cares._

* * *

Sakura should have gotten dressed and left when she woke up. It was already going to be embarrassing to make her way out of the dorm and sign out at the front desk. Walking over to her own dorm wasn't going to be too bad.

But there was no way Ino was going to believe that she was in the library all night and then wandered around campus in the early hours of the morning. It didn't help that it was now the afternoon. Ino was sure to be freaking out.

But...she kind of didn't want to leave so soon.

Sakura was so tired that when she had woken up earlier that morning that despite her shock she hadn't noticed that Sasuke had crawled into bed without a shirt.

It was probably a good thing that she didn't or she would have probably had difficulty going back to sleep and would have just stared at him and freaked out that he was pressing her against his bare chest.

Sakura peered over the brim of her mug, watching as Sasuke's muscles rippled as he moved.

_He's got such nice shoulders._

When Sasuke leaned across the table to reach something his tricep tightened. Sakura watched in fascination as he moved. Every part flexing and dimpling.

_I will leave after I finish my tea._

Sasuke twisted his body, his back now facing her and the contours of his body more pronounced with the stretching of his already well defined body.

_I'll just...drink my tea _really _slowly…_

Sakura was slowly drifting off into a fantasy that involved the dorm sectional couch when the door to Sasuke's room creaked. Heat crawled up her neck and her cheeks. She forgot that they weren't alone!

A boy taller than Sasuke with sleek hair falling into his eyes and wearing a shirt that read "KU Science Dept." shuffled toward her, holding her phone in his hand.

"A pig has been calling," he muttered.

"Ino!" Sakura leaped off of the counter and dashed into their room.

Barely remembering to shut the door behind her, she shimmied out of the baggy shorts and pulled on her jeans. Tripping where she stood, she pulled on her shearling wool boots and pulled her pea coat on.

"Thanks!" she snatched her phone from Sasuke's roommate as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and ran out of the dorm, not without fumbling with the lock at first.

"I would have stayed at the lab if I knew you had your girlfriend over." Sasuke's roommate gathered his hair and pulled it into a topknot. "She was your girlfriend, right?"

"Don't worry about it Shino."

Shino shrugged and shuffled back to their room.

"Uh, Uchiha?"

"What?" Sasuke called back, slightly confused that Shino was still up for more conversation. His roommate was always missing and almost never talked.

"Your girlfriend left her clothes here."

Sasuke sighed and leaned back into the couch. Sakura was such a mess.

"She ran out without something sort of important."

Shino shuffled back into the living room and using his index finger as a hook he held out Sakura's polka dot print brassiere. Sasuke ran his hand down his face and took it off Shino's hands.

_Annoying, annoying girl._

* * *

"I'm home!"

Sakura shut the door behind her with her foot and placed the drink tray and box of doughnuts on the communal area table.

She had used the last of her battery life to call Ino who had started yelling at her as soon as she answered the phone.

Ino demanded that Sakura bring coffee and doughnuts to make up for the heart attack she gave her when she woke up and Sakura was nowhere to be found. Ino had complained about Karin having stumbled into the room and screaming when she tried to snuggle with Sakura only for the bed to be empty.

"_I was about to call campus security!"_

Sakura cringed, remembering how loud Ino had been. She unbuttoned her pea coat to hang it on the hook.

She almost made it all the way to the doughnut shop before she realized that she had forgotten her bra. She was just glad she wasn't as busty as Ino was and could hide the lack of support with her coat and how baggy the sweatshirt she had borrowed from Sasuke was.

Her bedroom door opened with a bang and she prepared for Ino to start shouting at her in reprimand again.

"You stupid, stupid━whose shirt is that?"

Ino almost gave Sakura whiplash with how fast her mood had switched.

"You were out getting laid while I was having a heart attack!?"

And she was back to being loud and angry.

"I wasn't getting la-laid," Sakura stumbled around the word, face heating up from embarrassment. "I was with Sasuke. See?"

Sakura turned around and showed her where "Uchiha" was brazenly displayed across the shoulders. A lot of Sasuke's sleepwear was made up of old practice shirts from sports teams he had been on.

"Even more reason to think you were out getting laid," a voice called out from their bedroom.

A clearly hungover Karin shuffled out of the room Ino and Sakura shared with Sakura's quilt wrapped around her shoulders. She grabbed a cup of coffee and collapsed backwards on the couch.

"You're back," Sakura attempted to change the topic.

"Yeah. I ditched Sui for this super cute bartender but she was the responsible type that brought me back to the dorm and will you stay on topic? What happened to you?"

"Nothing happened to me. Did you get her number anyway?"

"I think I did but it might be fake. The receipt it's on says Tenten's her name. What kind of name is Tenten?"

"It's Japanese just like yours."

"Okay, but who names their kid━"

"Hello?" Ino snapped her fingers in front of their faces. "Can we stay focus on the fact that Sakura apparently spent the night with fucking Sasuke?"

"She has a point." Karin sat up more alert than before. "So how big is it? I've been wanting to know since we were fifteen so out with it."

"Really? Fifteen?" Ino wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I didn't sleep with Sasuke!" Sakura covered her face with her hands and asked herself why was she friends with them. "Nothing happened. He just let me sleep there because Ino kicked me out so she could fuck Sai."

"Well," Ino crossed her arms and nodded to herself, "it's some progress. You actually hung out with him instead of doing that weird eye fucking thing you do."

"Oh, right. That eye fucking thing." Karin nodded with her.

"_What?_ What eye━you know what? I'm not having this conversation."

Sakura grabbed a doughnut from the box and stormed out of the communal area.

She was fed up with having that conversation with those two. She spent a night with Sasuke. A whole night. And _nothing_ happened.

Nothing was ever going to happen.


	6. Grind

**Chapter Six: Grind**

Sakura laid back on her bed, limbs spread out like a starfish and counted the glow in the dark star stickers on her ceiling. She had been home for three days already but almost none of her things were unpacked.

She had carried her things out of her dad's car and just left everything neatly arranged in a corner of her bedroom. If she needed anything she would just pull it out of a box or her suitcase.

Mebuki had come in earlier and had reprimanded her for not working on putting her things in order. Sakura was supposed to be unpacking her things before her mother came back to check on her again but she couldn't be bothered to worry about that.

Sakura's phone rang and she looked at the name on the Caller ID. She rolled her eyes and muted the ringer. As soon as she turned it down there was a scoffing noise from outside her bedroom door.

"Oh, you did not just ignore me!"

"Go away Naruto!" Sakura groaned, covering her face with one of her throw pillows.

"No."

Naruto opened her bedroom door and leapt onto the empty space of her bed. He scooped her into his arms and pressed his face between her shoulder blades.

"You're supposed to be consoling me," came his muffled complaint. "Why do you and Sasuke always do this? Give me attention!"

Sakura moaned in discomfort and struggled to get away but Naruto's hold on her remained tight.

"You're like an octopus."

"Stop being mean to me I'm sad."

"It's your own fault."

Naruto gasped and squeezed her tighter in retaliation.

"Take it back."

"I won't," she groaned, resuming her struggling to get away. "It's your fault. We told you you would get dumped one day."

Naruto gasped again and released her.

"Why are you guys so mean to me today? You're supposed to be the nice one."

"I take it that you already bothered Sasuke today."

"He said Gaara was lucky to be rid of me and then he kicked me out of his house."

"Did you ask him for pity sex again? If he hangs you out of the tree house by your feet like last time I won't save you."

"It was a joke! I'm never serious about that. I don't need pity sex I can get laid just fine thank you."

"Isn't that why Gaara dumped you?"

"Why are you being a bitch to me? Is Sasuke not doing you right?"

Sakura sat up and grabbed one of her pillows and started smacking him with it over and over again.

"Stop being such a pervert!" She smacked him on his head but Naruto shielded it with his arms. "Nothing is going on with me and Sasuke!"

"_Still_? God you guys are slow. I was so sure it would have happened before the holidays."

Naruto sat up and stretched his arms over his head. Sakura noticed he was wearing his own Suna State hoodie for a change.

Gaara must have asked for his back. He was serious this time.

"How was your first semester of college?" Sakura asked deciding to humor him.

"It was fine but I wish you smarty pants didn't go off to a school I couldn't get into." Naruto pouted. "It was already bad that Sasuke was a grade higher and then you went off and abandoned me by skipping a whole grade."

"You should have studied more. It's not our fault you didn't do well in school."

Naruto grumbled incoherently and dropped to the ground in front of her bed. He leaned his head back and grinned at her mischievously.

"So you and Sasuke really haven't fu━"

Sakura slammed her pillow over his face.

* * *

With Naruto's help she was finally able to put away all of her stuff from college. Sakura just had to listen to him mope about the state of his love life.

_At least you had a boyfriend_, Sakura grumbled inwardly.

It confused Sakura how Naruto so easily found people willing to date or hook up with him. Even Ino had taken a stab at him to figure out what the hype was all about.

"_It was terrible,"_ was all she had to say about it. Karin had been so disgusted she refused to join their group chats for two weeks.

Sakura looked Naruto over as he continued to whine as he stuffed her socks into their designated drawer. He wasn't what she would call good looking, average looks on a good day but she supposed he had a certain charm about him considering he was happy-go-lucky and ready to be friends with everyone.

Which was something Sakura had struggled with for most of her life.

Sakura's first friend was Sasuke but that was more because his mother babysat her as her parents were always busy at work and Mikoto worked out of a studio in the Uchiha house.

Her friendship with Naruto soon followed because his mother was Mikoto's best friend. Kushina and her bonded at Lamaze classes and they were thick as thieves ever since.

Even though she and Naruto were registered into class a year after Sasuke due to the cut off date, the three of them still hung out after school after Mikoto picked them up.

"_She would probably make more friends if she wasn't so weird and had to leave for her special classes all of the time,"_ Naruto had informed Sasuke once when they were ten and he had moved on to middle school. "_Karin is like the only girl that gets along with her but she lives all the way in Kusa."_

Karin, being Naruto's cousin, visited often during the holidays and summer breaks. She originally trailed after her cousin and Sasuke due to a crush on the latter but one day she sat next to Sakura who had been making a wreath out of grass and dandelions by the side of the Uchiha's pool and declared, "You look funny. I like that. You're my friend now."

It wasn't until the seventh grade that Sakura's social life had changed.

Her parents went to a meeting with her guidance counselor and a week after that Sakura had been promoted one grade higher and entered the eighth grade. Due to an issue with her already taking courses in the grade above her and that she would have to take online courses the following year away from her peers, Kizashi thought it best she just move along up instead of having to be separated from the other students like she had been in elementary school.

And so Sakura bypassed seventh grade and found herself sitting in homeroom right next to Ino Yamanaka.

"_Oh, no. No no no,"_ Ino had tsked, grabbing Sakura's hand. She pulled out a purple makeup bag from her backpack and pulled out a file and seafoam green nail polish. "_Don't worry this is definitely your color."_

Sakura just sat there, shell-shocked, and let the blonde girl give her a manicure in the middle of homeroom. Thirty minutes after that she was getting her hair french braided and they were both getting scolded by their teacher about how they were supposed to use homeroom to study not to "play salon."

Ino became her best friend from then on. She dragged Sakura to any outings and made her break out of her shell.

As much as she could.

Sakura was getting along with Ino and her friends and at last having a life but there was one thing Ino couldn't help with and that was her love life.

* * *

"He's not my problem."

Sasuke crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his eyebrow at Sakura's stance. She mirrored his actions and crossed her arms in front of her chest, glaring up at him.

"He's your best friend."

"Says him."

"Come on."

"He felt me up last time we let him drink."

"He felt me up too so quit complaining."

"Are you guys making out in there?" Naruto's question came muffled through Sasuke's door.

Sasuke scowled at the door before turning his attention back to Sakura. It had been a while since the last time they were in the same room together and the only reason she was in his room now was because their moron best friend got dumped by his quiet boyfriend for the hyperactive kid that used to follow Sakura around until he realized he batted for the other team.

Sasuke found it ironic that Naruto had slept with Lee's boyfriend back when they were in high school and then Lee was the one that Gaara left him for.

Their friend was a mess.

"Not in my room. There's too much in here he can mess with."

Sakura looked around his room and then scowled at him. He had boxes of wires and circuit boards just all over the place and falling all over the floor.

"We're cleaning your room later." She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's a safety hazard in here."

"Leave my shit alone Haruno."

"We'll camp out in the treehouse."

"Oh 'cause that's not a safety hazard."

"Bite me Uchiha," Sakura bit out before yanking his door open and storming out, dragging Naruto by the collar of his shirt.

Sasuke sighed and closed his door, locking it. He straightened up some boxes so that none of the sharper items were on the floor anymore. After they were put away he straightened out his sheets and his pillows.

He searched blindly with his hand under his pillow and yanked on the strap of the object he had stuffed under there earlier that morning.

_I should clean in here before she tries to do it. Or worse, my mother._

Sasuke opened up one of the drawers on his dresser and stuffed the bra under his boxers.

He was going to have to return it eventually.

* * *

"I didn't _know_ it was his boyfriend," Naruto slurred. "I was drunk, face down into the mattress most of the time, how was I supposed to know who it was."

"Naruto, you're supposed to practice safe sex," Sakura scolded him. "Try and make better choices. You are being safe, right?"

"Yeah, mom," Naruto slurred some more, slumping over so that he was resting his full weight on her. They were only a few drinks in and he was already threatening to pass out on them.

"Aren't you at all disturbed by how much of his sex life we know about?" Sasuke took a long swig of one of the Hurricanes and grimaced. "I sure as fuck am."

"I'm friends with Karin and Ino and neither one of them have a filter." Sakura snatched the bottle from him. "You get used to it."

Sakura tilted her head back and downed the remaining liquid in the bottle. Sasuke watched her neck as she swallowed. He averted his gaze and turned his attention to the space heaters.

The tree house was barely four feet off the ground and was more of a shed that happened to fit around the tree between the Uchiha and Haruno property. Sasuke had always wanted a treehouse but the only proper tree to build one on straddled the property line.

He lucked out and Sakura had wanted one too so Kizashi used a couple of free weekends to construct the treehouse. When they got older and Sasuke started tinkering around with stuff, Fugaku bought them a generator so that they could have some more modern comforts while outside.

"God he's so sloppy."

Sasuke turned back around and caught Sakura adjusting Naruto's body so that he was resting on one of the mattresses and covered him with a comforter.

"He was the one that wanted to hang out and he passes out first, as usual. Why bother?"

"He just didn't want to be alone." Sasuke finished adjusting the heater and grabbed one of the other blankets and another forty ounce before sitting back on the other mattress. "He was going to drink anyway so better he did it with us then alone where he would get into trouble."

"True."

Sakura stretched her arms over her head, realigning her back, before settling down next to Sasuke on the second mattress.

Sasuke felt her rest her head against his arm and curl up next to his body. She was always cold and attempting to steal his or Naruto's body heat.

He wrapped his arm around her and scooped her up to move her between his legs. Sakura squirmed for a moment before finally settling when she realized how much warmer it was trapped against him and the blanket.

"Better?" Sasuke asked, dropping his head into the crook of her neck. He sighed against her skin. She still smelled like something fruity and fabric softener but there was a hint of lager.

Sakura shivered against him, when he exhaled again.

"Still cold?"

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her closer to him.

"Is this warmer?" He asked, lips brushing against her neck.

"Uh, yeah..." Sakura answered. She hadn't sounded so meek since they were in primary school.

"Why are you always so cold?"

Sasuke brushed his nose up her neck and pressed a soft kiss under her ear.

"Your hands are freezing," Sasuke murmured, taking one in his own.

"Actually, women tend to have a higher core temperature than men do while their extremities are colder. I only feel colder to you because of your extremities, like your hands are slightly warmer than mine. On average it's only a difference of about three degrees━"

"God, you're such a nerd." Sasuke chuckled right next to her ear and she shivered again. "Aren't you drunk right now?"

Sasuke pressed another kiss, on her jaw this time. Sakura had a habit of babbling when nervous.

Sakura swallowed, and he felt the movement as his continued to press kisses down the line of her throat.

"Buzzed. You?"

"Buzzed," Sasuke responded. "Maybe slightly more than buzzed."

"Then, uh, maybe we should━_ah!_"

Sasuke sucked on Sakura's pulse point and snuck a hand under her sweater. He stroked her stomach, careful not to tug on her belly ring.

"Hey."

Sakura turned her head to look up at him and Sasuke pressed his lips against hers, softly at first, patient until Sakura parted her lips against his. Her movements were clumsy but she was soft, so soft.

"My neck," Sakura murmured against his mouth.

Sasuke pulled away but quickly turned her around to face him, lifting her up from under her thighs and pulling her into his lap.

"Better?" He breathed the question against her mouth before parting her lips again.

He slipped his tongue inside her mouth and Sakura made a sound of surprise in the back of her throat. He rolled his tongue along hers and he tasted the lager they had been drinking.

Sasuke slid his hands up her thighs to her waist and dipped her lower, pressing her against his groin. He rolled his hips against hers and felt her hesitantly swivel her hips in slow circles.

"Like this," he panted. He guided her with his hands until Sakura gasped out. Sasuke had angled her so that she was rubbing her clit against his hardening cock.

"_Oh!_" Sakura cried out, pressing herself harder against him. She rest her forehead on his and they panted in each other's faces as they synchronized their grinding. "Sa-Sasuke! That feels━"

A loud snore interrupted her and halted their movements. Sakura's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in horror.

"Wait, Sakura don't━!"

Sakura fell backwards and crawled away.

"I-I gotta go."

Sasuke adjusted himself and made to chase after her when a loud, grating snore caught his attention. Naruto was all askew on the mattress, mouth gaping open.

He headed back out the door but Sakura was nowhere to be seen in the backyard. He leaned back on the doorway and slid down to the floor.

"Some friend you are," Sasuke grumbled, throwing one of the cushions at Naruto's face.


	7. A Little Taste

**Chapter Seven: A Little Taste**

It should have been harder to avoid someone that lived across a driveway. But Sakura was managing to do just that somehow.

Sasuke let her have her space and didn't approach her about the night in the treehouse. He spent time with his family and even went Christmas shopping with Izumi when she asked for help buying last minute gifts.

He filled his time fixing things around the house and helping his father out with organizing his digital files. He ran errands for his mother and when she sent him over to the Haruno house he would wait around as long as he could to catch a glimpse of Sakura.

Sasuke expected Sakura to open the door half of the time. There was only three people that lived in their home, it really shouldn't have been that hard to run into her.

He knew that this was a possibility but reality was much worse than just imagining the outcome.

* * *

It was the lager. He was drunk.

Sakura was hiding out at Ino's house for most of the past few days but she had to head back home when Ino's family packed up to go out of the country. She couldn't lie and say she was spending time with Ino considering her mother knew they weren't going to be back until it was time for her and Ino to head back to KU.

Being with Ino was a huge distraction from what had happened. She didn't want to think about what would happen if Naruto hadn't made his presence known. As much as she was enjoying herself it was a terrible idea.

Because it was the lager. He was drunk.

But now that she was no longer distracted with all of Ino's rambling about Sai and how she didn't know what their relationship would be like when they went back for their spring semester, she couldn't help but think of that night.

Straddling one of her pillows, Sakura grinded down, angling her crotch so that the pressure was applied directly to her clit.

She had never considered playing with herself that way before. When she touched herself it was usually with her fingers and she would take her time, building up tension before she let herself snap.

With the pillow she grinded at the pace Sasuke had dragged her hips along his length. Sakura pressed herself down more, aching for more. She tugged at the corners on both ends, treating herself more roughly than she normally would have, she pulled the pillow into a sawing motion.

Sakura collapsed on her bed and whined against the mattress.

It wasn't enough.

It wasn't the same hardness or Sasuke's warmth. And the sound of his panting and the feel of his breath against her skin was missed.

He was across the driveway, his bedroom window right across from hers but Sakura was too scared to face him.

Because it had to be the lager and he was drunk.

* * *

Sasuke sighed and rumpled his hair. He examined his reflection and clucked his tongue at it.

Mikoto had told him to shave but the scruff on his face wasn't that bad. It was just a shadow on his jawline and something he was use to during exam periods. It was a disheveled look that someone had once told him that it suited him.

"Yikes!"

Sasuke cringed at the sudden appearance of Shisui.

"That's not a New Year's Eve look your mom would approve of."

"I wasn't going to leave it." Sasuke pulled out his electric razor from the medicine cabinet. "See? Shaving."

"Good. Can't look like a bum anymore now that there's going to be guests over."

"Aren't you technically a guest?"

"Ouch!" Shisui grasped at his chest in mock pain. "I thought we were like family."

"You fucking my older brother doesn't make this your house."

"You wound me Sasuke." Shisui tugged at a strand of Sasuke's hair. "And you need a haircut. What, are you a hippie now?"

"I'll cut you."

"Just make sure to do something with it. You look like a shaggy dog."

Sasuke turned back to look at his reflection once more. He didn't mind how long his hair had become but Shisui had a point. He wasn't going to be able to just go out with his hair all disheveled or he wouldn't hear the end of it from his mother.

She would probably tackle him with a hairbrush and attack his head.

Sighing he gathered his hair in his hands and pulled it away from his face. He turned his head side to side and dropped his hair. No he definitely didn't like his hair completely out of the way.

_Alright. Let's figure this out._

* * *

Sakura just watched her mother as she pulled out all of her nice dresses from her closet.

"No, this is inappropriate." Mebuki tsked and tossed a mini dress into a pile of rejected outfits.

"I'm sorry but what's going on?"

"You're not staying home tonight," Mebuki informed her, handing her three different sweater dresses. "Pick one of those. You stayed home on Christmas Eve and that was rude. You're not skipping out on New Year's Eve with the Uchiha family."

"But Mama━"

"No 'But Mama' from you!" Mebuki glared at her and wagged a finger in front of Sakura's face. "Get dressed. And put some makeup on. Look nice. It's a party."

Sakura groaned and flopped back onto her bed when her mother left her room. She knew the chance of getting out of the annual New Year's Eve party at the Uchiha residence was going to be difficult. Sakura had already used the "not feeling well" excuse the previous week for Christmas Eve.

If she carried on like this it would become even more obvious that she was avoiding Sasuke.

Her parents weren't suspicious that that could possibly be the case but when it was time to head back and she didn't want to travel back with Sasuke it would be a red flag.

She usually loved being in the same car as him, taking in his smell in an enclosed space. Sometimes when she was waking up after taking a nap, Sakura would catch him singing under his breath.

Were moments like that really worth losing over a little taste?

* * *

Every single time Sakura's dress rode up on her thigh and revealed the skin above her thigh highs, Sasuke went for his drink.

She was at his parents' party but she was still avoiding him. Every time he entered a room and she happened to be in it, Sakura would find a reason to leave it.

Sasuke refused to acknowledge the fact that it seemed that he was following her around. He took another swig from his red plastic cup, not even concerned if anyone noticed that he was partaking of the adult beverages. They were all too far gone themselves to pay attention to anything he did.

Entering the kitchen, Sakura was the first thing he saw and she was alone. Her eyes widened and she spilled some of her own drink all over the front of her dress.

"Shit!"

Sakura backed away until she reached the pantry door. Reaching behind her she opened it and backed inside, closing the door behind her.

Sasuke sighed and headed toward the pantry. He tried to turn the knob only to feel the weight of it being pulled on the other side.

"The pantry doesn't lock on the inside," he explained and yanked the door open. He entered it and closed the door behind him. "You're avoiding me, Haruno."

"Oh, hey Sasuke!" Sakura averted her gaze and eyed the door beyond Sasuke's arm. "Seems like we've been missing each other all night, huh? Just came in here to get away from everyone."

"Then you can hide out in my room," he interrupted her babbling. "It's what you always do."

Sakura bit her lip and shuffled in place. The hem of her dress swished with her movements. Her skin was so pale against the charcoal of her dress and the black of her socks.

"Come on."

Sasuke grabbed her hand and waited for any signs of resistance. There was a slight tug before Sakura sighed. She adjusted her fingers so that instead of having them squeezed in between his they molded to fit between his.

He led her away from the kitchen, grabbing more beer along the way, and to the stairs to the second level. The sound of the adults laughing in the background assured him that everyone else was busy.

They moved quickly up the stairs, trying to keep out of sight before one of the adults saw them head to his room with something they shouldn't have.

"You finally cleaned up in here."

Sasuke locked his bedroom door before joining her further in.

"Here." Sasuke pulled out a baggy shirt and handed it to Sakura. "Change out of your dress. It's all covered in beer and stinks."

He made a show of turning his back on her to give her some privacy.

"Okay, I'm done."

His shirt fell to mid thigh, much shorter than her dress but still preserved her modesty. It was another reminder of how Sakura had stayed so small, petite, while he had kept growing and growing tall.

The combination of the shirt and her thigh highs was a reminder of how they both had grown in other ways.

Ways that he enjoyed a lot.

He gestured to his bed before taking a seat on the floor. He opened up a beer and passed it on to Sakura. He took a swig of his own, listening to the sounds of Kizashi's raucous laughter and then some more shouting from Shisui.

"They're going to regret all of this drinking tomorrow."

"Do they ever?" Sakura giggled. "They just make some shijimi in miso soup or ochazuke and claim it helps. I still say phö is the best hangover food."

"Hot tofu soup," Sasuke countered. "Extra spicy."

"Ewww!" Sakura nudged his shoulder with her knee. "Why do you have to make everything spicy?"

Sasuke chuckled against the lip of his bottle. He liked when they could joke around and just talk in his room.

But that wasn't all that he liked.

He liked the way she breathed against his skin and the way she felt in his hands. He liked Sakura's scent of fabric softener and something fruity on his sheets and his clothes. He loved the way she sounded all out of breath.

And the way she tasted.

Sasuke turned his head, eyeing Sakura's knee. It was right at eye level. All he had to do was tilt his head a bit and he could press his lips right on━

"What are you doing!?"

Sakura pulled her leg away from him, face flushing red.

"I think you've had enough to drink."

Sakura swiped for Sasuke's beer but he held it out of reach, setting it down on the floor. He stood up from his seat on the floor and caged Sakura with his arms, sliding his hands on his mattress until she leaned back.

"Since when did I come on to anyone 'cause I was drunk?"

"Um…"

"We've been drinking since I was like, what, sixteen. I would kiss you even if I weren't drunk."

Sasuke scooped Sakura up and tossed her lightly, adjusting her body so that she was laying her head on his pillows. He nudged her thighs apart and nestled between her legs.

"But I'm not waiting until I'm sober for that."

Sasuke expected more resistance. After being avoided for so long he expected the probability of being slapped and screamed at to be high.

But Sakura was molding her lips with his and cupping his neck to pull him closer to her.

* * *

"Are _you_ drunk?"

Sakura wished she were just so she wouldn't feel so anxious. Her first drink of the night was the beer Sasuke gave her. The wine she was trying to drink earlier had spilled all over her when Sasuke surprised her in the kitchen.

All she could do was shake her head no when Sasuke's fingers brushed against her ribs. He skimmed them along her bra, reaching behind her and unclasping it smoothly.

_Huh. Thought that would be harder for him to figure out._

He pulled back to give her room to pull it out from under her borrowed shirt. Sakura flung it onto the floor and Sasuke went back to pressing his body against hers.

Sakura was so caught up in how his tongue rolled against hers and untying the half up do of his that she missed how it was that Sasuke snuck his hand into the waistband of her boyshorts.

"You have to relax, Sakura."

She let go of the tenseness she had been carrying at the sound of the second syllable of her name hitting the roof of his mouth. The third syllable rolling off his tongue had her spreading her legs open a bit more.

Sakura gasped at the feel of his fingers rubbing along her labia, massaging circles on the folds and spreading them apart. He moved them inward, applying pressure as he stroked.

"Shit."

Sakura's face heated up and she turned her face away, swallowing. Sasuke cursing as he slipped a finger inside of her was something she thought only her imagination could conjure up.

A gasp got caught in her throat when Sasuke used his thumb to rub her clit in a circular manner. She grabbed his wrist to hold him still and tightened her thighs around his hand.

"I said you need to relax," he murmured against her ear before nipping at skin right below it. "You can't tense up like that when my head's down there."

"_Your head?_"

Sasuke removed his hand from her hold and tugged the shirt she was wearing over her head and off. Sakura made to cup her breasts to cover up when Sasuke nudged her arms away.

"You don't touch yourself. _I_ touch you."

The intensity in his eyes had her slipping her hands away.

"Well," Sakura squeaked before calming her nerves as much as she could, "then can you at least take your shirt off too?"

Without hesitation, Sasuke pulled away to yank his crew neck sweater over his head. Sakura trailed her eyes down his torso with the movement. She followed the trail of black hair from his navel down to the top button of his jeans.

_I died, didn't I?_

Sasuke leaned over her and took a nipple into his mouth.

_Yeah, I fucking died._

"Can I?" Sasuke murmured against her sternum in between kisses across her chest. He tugged on her boyshorts to indicate what he had been asking about.

"_Please._"

Sasuke chuckled against one of her breasts and slipped her panties down her thighs. Sakura watched him toss them over his shoulder before he gripped her waist and trailed kisses down her stomach.

Sakura swallowed hard as she felt Sasuke's hair brushing against her thighs. She could sit and compare how his fingers worked her in a way she couldn't but she had nothing to compare the sensation of his tongue lapping away at her.

All she knew was that she didn't want him to stop.

She buried her fingers in his hair and swiveled her hips, grinding against his mouth. It felt too good to be real but then Sasuke sucked her clit between his lips, rolling the little nub between them and flicking his tongue at it.

He slipped his finger back inside her and pumped it in and out before slipping a second one inside. He curled his fingers and spread them to stretch her out. It was a peculiar feeling, not that pleasant but not bad either.

There was a familiar tightening in her lower stomach but Sasuke didn't leave her hanging. She covered up her mouth with her hands, trapping her cries as she reached her climax.

Sasuke lapped at her core one more time before pulling away, glaring at her from between her thighs.

"They would have heard me!"

"I highly doubt they would have noticed."

Sasuke stood up and pulled open the drawer on his nightstand. He took out a box and pulled out a foil package. He tossed it near Sakura's shoulder and then shimmied pulled his jeans off, treating them as well as he had been treating Sakura's clothes the whole time.

Sakura sat up and grabbed his wrist before he could pull down his boxer briefs.

"Want to stop?"

"What?" Sakura scrunched up her nose in confusion. "No we're definitely, you know, I just want to do this part."

Sasuke smirked at her and she narrowed her eyes at him, not happy with the knowing look he gave her.

Sakura pressed a kiss right above his belly button and tugged his boxer briefs down his hips.

Before she could do anything after freeing him from his undergarments, Sasuke pushed her back down on his bed and grabbed the foil package. He distracted Sakura with some more kisses as he ripped it open and rolled the condom on his cock.

He stroked Sakura's thigh as he continued to give her open mouthed kisses. Sakura had tensed up again when she his cock brushing against her exposed core. She sighed into his mouth, pulling him closer by his shoulders.

To think she had just been dry humping her own pillow when she could have been in his bed, his fingers drawing circles on her flesh.

"Fuck!" Sakura hissed. Sasuke stilled but he trailed kisses down the line of her throat and sucked on her pulse point.

"Relax." Sasuke drew curlicues on her upper thigh. "I won't move until you want me to. If you want me to."

It was comforting and it was sweet but Sakura had been wanting this for so long.

"I'd very much like it if you moved Sasuke."

Sasuke kissed her hard and swallowed her punched out gasp when he rolled his hips. He didn't draw back, only making small movements as Sakura grew accustomed to having him inside her.

When Sakura's kisses became needier and more desperate is when Sasuke finally thrusted fully. He went slow but went deep, swallowing her moans into his mouth.

Sakura could have sworn she heard someone counting down from somewhere far away. Why they would be counting down she couldn't remember.

She was too busy listening to and feeling Sasuke's panting against her shoulder. She dragged her nails down his back at a particularly hard thrust and he groaned into the space where her neck and shoulder connected.

Sakura bit down on his shoulder when she came for the second time. She hadn't meant to bite him but she remembered needing to be quiet and although she had never been loud when she brought herself to her own release she was worried she would be with Sasuke now that she was finally able to reach it after days of struggle.

Sasuke followed after her and collapsed on top of her. They lay like that when it finally hit Sakura.

"Oh. Happy New Year."


	8. Greedy

**Chapter Eight: Greedy**

A conversation should have been had. Sasuke expected a conversation.

There wasn't any time for conversation. As soon as Sakura's chest stopped rapidly rising and falling she was slipping back into her clothes.

She clumsily pulled up her thigh highs, almost falling on her face in the process, and tossed his clothes at him.

"_Get changed! They're going to expect us to wish them a happy new year!"_

It was just like her to go from bashful and flustered lover to bossy childhood friend in just seconds.

First needing to dispose of the condom, he changed at a much more relaxed pace before following her down stairs.

She had her back to him talking to a suspiciously sober looking Izumi.

"_Why aren't you drinking?" _He heard Sakura ask Izumi. "_It's not like you need to DD, that's Itachi's job usually."_

"_Weren't you wearing a hair clip?" _Izumi countered. She had eyed him over Sakura's head but snapped her attention to a giggling Sakura who was trying to explain that it must have slipped without her noticing.

Besides that conversation it seemed no one had missed them that night. That wasn't unusual but it seemed like everything had gone a little too well in keeping it secret.

Which was why they had to be more careful.

Talking about what had happened never came about but there was a silent agreement that what had happened was to remain between the two of them.

"Are you really trying to answer that right now?"

He panted by her ear, one hand moving from her hip to slide Sakura's cell phone away from her.

"That's the third," Sakura whimpered as Sasuke's hand slipped back between her thighs, "call. He's probably driving...over right now."

Sasuke groaned, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. The missed calls were a sure sign that their idiot best friend was going to burst into one of their rooms soon looking for them.

He pulled back and his cock slipped out of Sakura. She whined but then gasped when he flipped her over onto her back, thrusting back inside her tight, wet heat in one movement.

"We have time," Sasuke groaned as Sakura tightened around him, "he won't check the treehouse first."

Sasuke hoisted her up so that she straddled his lap. He held her tightly to him by gripping her hips and thrust upwards at an unrelenting pace.

Sakura twisted her fists in Sasuke's sweater and muffled her cries into his neck.

"_Shit!_" She cursed into his ear. She came just a few seconds before Sasuke. He released his grip on her hips and rubbed her back soothingly.

"See? Enough time."

Sakura glared up at him and he couldn't help but kiss her. She grumbled, displeased, but melted into his kisses when he cupped her face and rubbed her jawline with his thumb.

Laying her back down on the mattress, Sasuke stroked the back of her thighs making her sigh. They laid there sharing kisses until Sakura scrunched up her face and groaned.

"I don't wanna put my pants back on."

Sasuke snorted and reached for her clothing, tossing her boyshorts and yoga pants at her.

"If you don't put those back on Naruto's going to get an eye full."

Sakura grumbled but slipped her pants back on. She was always reluctant to put her clothes back on which was fine with Sasuke.

Sakura liked to lounge around, sprawling over him and having as much skin on skin contact as possible.

When her parents were out the other afternoon they had stayed in her bed for hours talking about everything except for the fact that they were both naked.

He wasn't sure what was keeping them from discussing it. He couldn't talk to her about it the first night nor the next day when Sakura went to go help her parents prepare their shop to be re-opened the following day. Sasuke slept in the day after and woke up planning to have a conversation before he got anything else done that day.

Sasuke still wasn't sure what happened after Sakura had opened the door but they both had ended up without their pants and up against the Harunos' washing machine.

The two of them couldn't even agree on who had initiated it that time.

Sakura would keep insisting that he was the one always making the first move and he would just shut her up by distracting her with kisses.

He had waited too long to kiss her freely to waste time on things of no import.

"Tuck it away," Sakura hissed as she patted down her hair. Sasuke complied and tucked himself back into his boxer briefs and pulled his jeans back over his hips. "And open up the shutters. It smells like sex in here."

"If only there was a reason for that."

Despite the sarcasm he used he opened up the windows to the treehouse to let the musky scent out.

He didn't care so much about Naruto finding out about what they were doing but it wasn't anyone's business. He liked his privacy and no one sticking their nose where it didn't belong.

What Sasuke didn't understand was why Sakura was so quiet about everything.

It made sense to keep everything secret from their parents because then they wouldn't be left alone again. But Sasuke half expected a phone call within the past few days and for Naruto to be screeching about how no one told him anything.

Sakura was the talkative one of the two and the one he expected to talk to her friends about what happened and if she had he knew he would be hearing about it from either one of the Uzumaki cousins.

But silence was all he got.

He tried to tell himself that it didn't bother him, that he preferred the secrecy.

He tried. But he was failing.

.  
.

Sakura tried not to be irritated with the seating arrangements. It wasn't that she disliked spending time with Naruto but she would have preferred to be cuddling on the other couch with Sasuke instead of sitting upright while Naruto laid his head on her lap.

She tried not to pinch Naruto's cheek when he took her hand and put it on his head, asking for her to massage his scalp.

He was acting spoiled because while Konoha University's spring semester didn't start until almost the last week of January, Suna State started the following week. Naruto was due back to his dorm in two days and he was trying to pack as much quality time with his best friends as possible.

Which meant it cut into Sakura's alone time with Sasuke.

_I'm a bad friend_, Sakura chastised herself as she massaged circles against Naruto's scalp. Her friend had less than thirty-six hours until he would be heading back out of the state and she wouldn't see him until spring break.

She wouldn't be able to see Naruto for two months and all she could think about was cuddling up with Sasuke and stealing kisses.

_It's _his _fault._

Sakura snuck a glance over at Sasuke. He was lounging on the opposite couch under one of the bulky weight crochet blankets his mother was fond of making. He looked so warm and cozy and just so inviting. If Naruto wasn't there Sasuke would have made space for Sakura under the blanket.

_He would probably give me lots of kisses too._

Sakura sighed and shifted in her seat. She was starting to get spoiled by how surprisingly affectionate Sasuke was. Her fantasies about sleeping with Sasuke had always been about the actual act. She had never considered what would happen in the afterglow.

Sasuke Uchiha was a cuddler and she loved every second of it.

"You seem distracted," Naruto whispered, barely turning his head to look up at her.

_Oh, you know. Just thinking about getting dicked down again._

"Just wanted to watch something else." Sakura shrugged and tried to focus on the comedy that Naruto had picked out for them to watch. It was hard to focus when all she wanted to do was snuggle into Sasuke's warmth.

"We can just change the movie," Naruto cheerfully suggested. "I did pick the last two movies anyway."

"Are you forgetting something?" Sasuke spoke up for the first time since the current movie had started.

It was always amusing watching Naruto's face shift from confusion to realization and then to panic. It was comical how his face would go from ugly and scrunched up and then his eyes would widen and his jaw would drop dramatically.

"Curfew!" Naruto shouted and scrambled off of the couch. He grabbed his phone off of the coffee table and dashed out of the family room.

Sakura heard him crash against a wall, the result of sliding across the hardwood floors of the Uchiha home in his socks.

"Well that definitely woke your parents up." Sakura giggled as she cleaned up the mess that Naruto had left behind. If Fugaku came down to check on them she wanted to make sure that nothing was out of order.

When she came back from checking the hall and dumping Naruto's mug in the sink, she paused in the entryway of the family room. There was no reason for her to sit on the second couch. But there was also no reason for her not to lay out on it when it was empty and available.

She peered over the couch at Sasuke. The light coming off the television screen cast shadows on his face and reflected the movie on his lenses.

"I'm cold," she muttered, lifting up the blanket he was using and slipping under. Luckily she was petite and fit in the small space next to him.

Without missing a beat, Sasuke had adjusted his body to make more room for her and wrapped the blanket around her. He was so soft with her and it was so confusing.

_I'm going to get greedy._

Sakura nuzzled her nose against his collar bone and threw her leg over his hip. Without taking his eyes off of the television screen, Sasuke pulled her leg tighter around him and stroked her lower back.

"Hey." With a soft voice Sakura caught his attention. She pressed herself tighter against him and pulled his face down to kiss her.

She was distracting him. She knew she was distracting him from asking questions or ruining anything by talking about what they had been up to since New Year's Eve.

_Let me be greedy._

Tracing the contours of Sasuke's abdominal muscles and the deep cut of his adonis belt, Sakura snuck her fingers down to the button of his jeans and popped them open. She felt his breath hitch and a low groan tumbled out of his mouth into hers when she pulled his cock out of his boxer briefs.

He was always against her or inside of her, never letting her do any of the work. Just because she lacked the experience it didn't mean she couldn't at least try to do anything.

He was hot and heavy in her hand but it was the way that Sasuke's lips pressed into a tight line that had her blushing and heat spreading in her lower stomach.

He was embarrassed but full of too much pride to avert his gaze, to look anywhere else but at her as she pumped her hand over his shaft, tightening her fist on the down stroke.

"Am I doing it right?" Sakura whispered, smiling softly as he grunted an affirmation. "Because I can stop if I'm not."

"Don't," Sasuke's hips thrusted now that Sakura's hand was moving faster, "don't stop."

Sakura laughed, elated at his reaction. The sound must have made him upset because he shifted so that he was hovering over her, bracing himself on one forearm and then he shoved his other hand down her yoga pants.

Sakura let out a gasp and almost halted her movements when he curled his middle finger, stroking as he pumped away.

"Quiet."

"You be quiet!" Sakura snapped back, tightening her grip. Sasuke retaliated by slipping another finger inside of her. Sakura bit her lower lip to hold back from crying out.

"Can you even be quiet?" Sasuke teased her, smirking at her as she grinded her hips against his hand.

_He always has to one up me…_

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and shoved him away from her.

"What are you━?"

Taking advantage of his confusion, Sakura pushed him back down on the couch and nestled her body between his legs.

"Let's see who has trouble being quiet now," she muttered taking his cock in her hand once again and then dragging her tongue from the base and up to the tip. She pressed her tongue flat on the head and then slowly took him into her mouth.

Sakura focused on breathing through her nose, humming contently when she felt Sasuke's fingers sliding against her scalp and burying into her hair. Experimenting, she sucked in her cheeks tight as she bobbed her head up and down. Sasuke's grip on her hair tightened and he threw his head back.

_He's kind of cute like this._

"Sa━Saku━"

"Sasuke?"

Sakura stiffened up from her place between Sasuke's legs. That was the last place she wanted Mr. Uchiha to find her.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Is Sakura still here?" Sakura exhaled a sigh of relief. It sounded like he was calling from the foyer. She removed herself from Sasuke's crotch and sat back, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "It's getting late. She should call her parents if she's going to be staying over."

Sakura muffled her giggles with her hands. If Fugaku Uchiha knew what she had just been doing to his son he wouldn't be too happy with her spending the night under the same roof.

"No, she's going home now that the movie is finished."

"Alright," Fugaku called out. The two of them stayed silent, listening to his footsteps as he made his way back up the stairs.

"We should call it a night."

"You suck." Sakura pouted, not happy with the abrupt ending to the evening.

"No," Sasuke gave her a lopsided grin, "_you_ suck."

"Oh, shut up." Sakura glared at him, her cheeks turning hot. His cheeks were still rosy, flushed from their carnal activities, and his cock was still exposed and he still took the opportunity to tease her.

And yet she wasn't irritated with that. She was enjoying spending time with him like this.

She just didn't know if they would continue as they were or if things would change when they had to head back to KU for their next semester. And she was too worried about the answer to talk about it.

_Let me have this just for a little longer._


	9. Time's Up

**Chapter Nine: Time's Up**

Just like the start of every semester, Sasuke was spending his last week at home buying supplies and groceries to take back to his apartment style dorm.

"I hate moving back in," Sakura grumbled as she crossed off another item from her list. "We're going back to the same dorm we stayed in fall semester but they made us pack up all of our shit just to have us bring it all back."

Except this time he was running his errands alongside Sakura.

"Grab the sriracha," he nodded to the hot sauce bottle as he slowed the shopping cart to a stop in front of the Asian/Hispanic aisle of the grocery store.

Sakura tugged the cart by the basket until he followed her into the aisle.

"I wanna grab some ramen too."

"We should just stop by the Korean market instead. Better instant ramen."

"Shit. You're right." Sakura looked down at the few items in their cart and then back up at him. "Why did we come here again?"

"The Korean market doesn't sell tomato sauce for some reason and the milk here is cheaper."

"Why don't you just buy milk when we're back in the city?"

"It's a hassle to carry groceries on the train or bus and city parking is a mess," Sasuke reasoned. "Also your special milk is cheaper here."

"Don't mock me for being lactose intolerant."

"I didn't say anything."

"You're thinking it."

"Stupid superior digestive tract," he heard her grumble as she walked ahead of him toward the dairy aisle.

Usually Sasuke preferred to do his shopping on his own. There was no meandering and he was in and out without any hassle. Sakura was like his mother who always made a list but then deviated from the list she had made herself to grab things she hadn't intended to buy.

He would have gone out shopping by himself if it weren't for the fact that it was a perfect excuse to spend more time with Sakura. Time that wasn't had with their pants off.

Whenever he wanted to have a real discussion about what they were doing, Sakura would trace the veins that peeked through the translucent skin of his inner wrist with a delicate touch of her fingers. She would take his hand and press soft kisses to his fingertips never breaking eye contact.

It was those eyes of hers that made him want to forget the fragile line they had crossed. The one he had been trying to build up into a wall ever since he was sixteen.

A wall that kept crumbling with everyone of Sakura's kisses that melted into soft sighs and content hums.

"We should do something later."

"Huh?"

If it weren't for the fact that her cheeks were flushed he would have thought Sakura hadn't spoken up from where she was rifling through the jugs of milk for the one with the longest shelf life.

"I just, you know," Sakura shrugged, peering up at him through her pale lashes, "figured we should go do something since we're heading back tomorrow."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and fiddled with her hands, wringing them in the bottom hem of her sweater. It was a habit she had when she was younger that never really went away.

And one Sasuke was glad he could recognize.

"Imeanwedon'thavetoIjustthought━"

"Yeah, sure."

Sakura's jaw dropped but she quickly composed herself into a bright smile and beamed up at him.

"We can watch that movie that Naruto was trying to drag us to but we kept rejecting," Sakura suggested.

Sasuke nodded in agreement. As much as Naruto was their friend he was terrible company at the movie theater.

"Make sure to mention the movie on Facebook so he can see it."

"He's going to be so mad."

"Good."

* * *

_Cute?_

Sakura lifted a three quarter sleeve skater dress in front of her floor length mirror and then lifted a baggy cable-knit sweater that was practically a dress considering her height.

_Or comfy?_

Sakura tossed the dress over her desk chair and pulled on the sweater over her head. She wasn't going to freeze and look like she was trying too hard. It was just a movie with a friend.

A friend that she was spending a lot of time with her legs wrapped around his waist.

"Oh, Jesus," Sakura cursed and slapped her cheeks.

_I'm getting embarrassed _now_!?_

Sakura bent over so all of her hair fell over and scooped it all up, tying it into a messy bun on top of her head.

"It's getting awfully long again," she muttered. She wasn't going to cut it again but a trim was due. It had taken forever to grow it back her preferred length after she chopped it all off in high school.

_Now why did we do that again? Oh, right…_

Sasuke had supposedly liked long hair which was one of the reasons she had refused to cut it in the first place. Although she wasn't going to tell him about her feelings she still had wanted him to think she was attractive.

_Well, we got the answer to that question now don't we? _Sakura's cheeks warmed up as applied lip balm to protect her lips from the winter air.

She had wanted his attention, whether it was because they were competing for the best grades or because he thought she was pretty. Competing on an academic level was easy. Putting her self-esteem on the line wasn't.

"I need a necklace."

Sakura opened up her jewelry box and hummed along with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake tinkling as the little ballerina twirled on the box. She pulled out a white gold necklace with a ballet slipper pendant. Carefully she clasped it behind her neck and adjusted it so it rest neatly just below the hollow of her neck on top of her sweater.

_Now this is a look I haven't seen in a while_, she inwardly teased herself.

The bun was messy, completely against regulation, but her face was clear of makeup and she was wearing her old pendant. She could have been on her way out of the old studio she used to go to attend class.

Naruto used to tease her that she and Sasuke conformed to a lot of the Asian stereotypes. She took ballet and he played the violin and neither one of them dared come home with a grade below an A.

Stereotype or not, she had loved ballet. She had quit before her junior year of high school to focus even more on her studies and had no regrets but occasionally Sakura could feel a dull ache in her chest when she remembered all of those years of dance. She loved walking down memory lane but she always avoided thinking about her final recital.

She had chopped all of her hair off the day after the event.

She had tried to let go of Sasuke after that day.

_Not that I ever succeeded in doing that._

* * *

Sakura let out an exaggerated groan and slammed her fist on the machine. She slipped her hand into Sasuke's front pocket and he jumped back.

"I'm not trying to feel you up," Sakura rolled her eyes, "I just need the quarters."

"Right…"

Sasuke pulled out two quarters and slid them into the slot of the fighter arcade game so that Sakura could press continue.

"I use to win all of the time, how am I losing?" Sakura grunted, jabbing hard at the buttons to try and land a combo.

"That was before we figured out I needed glasses."

"Oh, shit. That's right."

They played one more round until Sakura finally gave up and dragged him to play Mario Kart. Nothing about the night seemed that different to Sasuke than what they usually did just that they were without the usual tag along.

He wasn't sure if that was comforting or worrying. On one hand it was relaxing because there was no need to try so hard to make the night run smoothly but if he had a moment to overthink it seemed that what seemed like a date to him was just a normal hangout to Sakura.

That had been running through his head throughout the movie. They only thing that was able to put his mind at ease and allow him to enjoy the film was when Sakura lifted the armrest so that she could curl into his side. She had always been very touchy and clingy but outside of what had been going on the past few weeks, it had been years since they were this close and comfortable around each other.

And he knew it was his fault for that.

"I want ice cream," Sakura sighed, stretching her arms over her head.

"Did you bring your pills?"

"Duh. Kind of have to when all of the good food is made with dairy."

"All of the good food?"

"Yeah, like ice cream and cheese pizza and pumpkin spice lattes and…"

Sakura prattled on listing all of her favorite foods but Sasuke was barely listening to them, more focused on watching the way her mouth shaped every syllable and how when a word caused her lips to spread a dimple formed.

He knew all of her favorite foods. It was bits of information he stored away, subconsciously stamping them as important.

Clear on his mind were smug grins or scowls, ever present with the way they always tried to one up each other. But her smiles and blushing were rare and he was getting spoiled with how often he could pull them from her now.

"And you know how much I love Vietnamese iced coffee."

"Yeah, anything to get a high dose of sugar." Sasuke's face twisted up into a scowl at the thought.

"Oh, shut up. Sweets make my mouth happy." There was a slight pause before she continued. "Amongst other things."

Sasuke stopped in the middle of the theater lobby not sure if he had heard her correctly and was reading too much into it.

"Don't think about it too hard," Sakura burst into a peal of laughter. "But you can help me be _very_ happy later."

Sasuke's eyes went wide and he gaped at her, unsure how to respond. He hadn't expected her to tease him in such a crude manner in public.

"And if you're still not sure what I'm talking about I'm referring to your━"

"Yeah I caught that," Sasuke interrupted her. He grabbed her hand and sped out of the lobby before she could say anything else where people could hear her.

* * *

She tasted like taro gelato and the chocolate she had drizzled all over her scoop.

The plan wasn't to end up in the backseat of his RAV4 but Sakura had slipped back there and had asked him to pull over somewhere secluded. He was going to ignore her and just go home when she had tossed him her leggings but as soon as her boyshorts hit his steering wheel he turned down a street going the opposite of their houses and parked in the dark parking lot of the community pool. He turned off the headlights and parked in a dark corner.

Sakura pulled on his sweater as he climbed over the center console and joined her in the backseat.

He was getting spoiled with all of her affection. But he was going to make the most of it while she was offering it to him.

* * *

Sakura knew her parents were going to wake her up early so they could have a big breakfast before she went back to school.

Her father would make her favorite blueberry waffles and her mom would pack her up two cartons of bao to take back to her dorm.

But she didn't know if whatever she and Sasuke were would last past the night.

Dragging her fingers down his chest, brushing along the fine hairs that trailed down his lower abdomen, she listened to the way his breath hitched.

She committed to memory the way his chest rose and fell rapidly in sync with her own.

"I'm not done with you," Sakura murmured against his mouth. "Not yet."

She trailed kisses along the underside of his jaw and down the line of his throat.

_Not yet. Not yet. Not yet._


	10. Exercise

**Chapter Ten: "Exercise"**

"And the asshole actually pointed it out!"

Sakura bit on the rim of her paper coffee cup to hold back her laughter. Karin had finally got back to their dorm and the three of them were taking a break from helping her unpack to grab some coffee and doughnuts.

"I _know_ I gained weight during the holidays. Sai didn't have to bring it up. It really killed the mood."

"Why are you complaining? It mostly went straight to your tits and ass," Karin snickered.

"Okay but I would gladly trade with you if it meant I wouldn't gain weight."

"I wish I gained weight," Karin muttered biting down on the straw of her frappe. "But then again, I'm also glad that I don't actually need to wear a bra."

"Yeah on second thought, I'm glad I'm not as flat as a board."

Ino side stepped around Sakura to avoid Karin clawing at her. She used her longer legs to take long strides away from her. Karin gave up and sidled up next to Sakura, hooking her arm with hers.

"I'm surprised _you_ aren't bitching about weight gain." Karin nudged Sakura. "You're usually off on a run twice a day because of some imaginary pudge on your thighs and butt."

"Yeah!" Ino strolled back, closing the distance she had created. She took hold of Sakura's face between her thumb and fingers and squeezed her cheeks. "And your face is usually all rounded out after eating too many sweets 'cause you went back home. But you're actually kind of…._glowing_?"

"I just exercised a lot."

Ino and Karin burst out in laughter earning them both a glare from Sakura.

"You _never_ exercise during the holidays." Ino wiped at her eye with the heel of her palm. "You turn into slug mode and then end up with chipmunk cheeks after they're over."

"Well, I was good this year." Sakura tossed her hair over her shoulder and kept her chin up.

"That or _naughty_," Karin snickered. Her laughter died out when she realized that Sakura hadn't vocally reacted to what she had said. Usually she would be protesting and tell her to get her mind out of the gutter.

"Hold this for a sec." Sakura held out her paper cup toward Ino.

"Uh, sure?" Ino took the cup and as soon as she had a proper hold of it, Sakura took off running across the campus courtyard.

"What the hell!?" Karin shrieked. She wasn't going to attempt to chase Sakura. Despite her shorter legs, Sakura was faster than even Ino.

"Forehead get back here!"

Sakura leapt over a short hedge and continued until she went around the corner of a building and was out of sight.

"Oh wow, she really didn't want to have this conversation." Karin tapped her chin with a finger. "Suspicious."

"What the fuck am I supposed to do with her latte? I hate soy milk." Ino took a sip of Sakura's latte and gagged.

"Give me. It's free caffeine."

"You've got a serious problem." Ino grimaced as Karin downed Sakura's leftover latte in one gulp.

"I do actually. I wanted to talk to you guys about my date coming up but the little hoe just took off running."

"Oh. Right. That bartender you said you've been texting a lot." Ino stuffed her hands into her peacoat pockets. "The one that doesn't know how old you actually are."

"I think she's smart enough to have figured out my age when she walked me to the dorm but, like, I don't want her to back off because I'm not even legal to drink yet."

Karin sighed, tucking her face into the collar of her bubble coat. She knew it was a chance that Tenten would be turned off due to the fact that she hadn't cleared up that one little fact.

_Why do I always have to be into older people?_ Karin grumbled inwardly.

When she was younger she had a crush on Sasuke that had lasted the fifteen minutes it took Itachi to come home from hanging out with his friends. Karin had followed Sasuke around the whole summer in the hopes of getting some of his older brother's attention but any kindness he shared was due to her being a family friend.

The summer before she graduated from high school she had gotten a job as a lifeguard and developed a crush on her manager who was twice her age. Almost all of the employees knew she had a crush on the older woman but the age gap was too large for anyone to take Karin's infatuation seriously.

"So, what? You're just going to keep using your fake for the entirety of your relationship?"

"Nah. We'll just see if tomorrow is my first and last date." Karin shrugged. "And then if I tank the date, I'll make Suigetsu take me out for drinks and hook up with whatever girl he had his eye on all night. It would be hilarious and make me feel a bit better."

"So back to your regular weekend plans?"

Karin stopped walking and stared at her feet. The way Ino said it made it seem..._sad_. She had never had a problem before with hooking up. It was fun and she enjoyed having a healthy sex life.

Sure she would prefer to have a date during daylight hours. And hold someone's hand. And worry about the best gift to give at holidays. Maybe even introduce them to her friends or her mother.

It would be a nice change.

"I don't even know what a real date is supposed to be like," Karin mumbled.

But it was terrifying to think about it.

* * *

"You forgot you had to come back here didn't you?"

Ino had her arms crossed in front of her chest and was tapping her foot when Sakura entered their dorm room.

"Have you really been standing there the whole time, just waiting for me to come back?"

"She asked the same question to the wrong roommates twice before you showed up." Karin was lying on the couch with a sheet mask on her face.

Ignoring them, Sakura slipped out of her boots and into her red, fuzzy house slippers. When they first brought a cubby for their shoes Karin's roommate had argued that it was wasting space. Luckily the other roommates liked the idea because it kept them from tracking dirt from outside all over the linoleum floor which meant they had to sweep less often.

The girl didn't like losing and ever since then Karin's roommate was always on her case and turning on the lights at night when Karin was trying to sleep.

Sakura had half expected to find their shoe cubbies missing when they came back from winter break considering they left it behind despite being warned to pack up all of their items and take them back home by their resident advisor.

"We're sorry by the way," Karin apologized, sitting up to make room for her on the couch. "You usually don't mind when we tease you like that. It wasn't even as bad as it usually is."

"You were acting weird during break too." Ino sprawled on both of their laps wrapping her arms around Sakura's neck.

"It's not exactly something I wanna talk about."

Ino opened her mouth to say something but Karin pinched her thigh. Shaking her head, Karin soothed the spot with a gentle rub.

"Well then let's talk about me." Karin stretched her arms in front of her, interlocking her fingers. "The word doesn't revolve around you, y'know."

"Alrighty then," Sakura rolled her eyes, "what does Princess Karin want to talk about?"

Karin sighed dramatically, shifting her body so she could drape herself against Sakura's shoulder.

"I was all alone in Kusa while you guys were having fun hanging out every day. And no one thought about poor, little Karin…"

"Shut up!" Ino used a throw pillow to smack her in the face. "You couldn't have been that lonely considering you have a date tomorrow night and you just got back."

"It was still lonely!" Karin smacked her back with another one of the throw pillows. "It was just texting. Not like she drove all the way to Kusa to visit."

"What are you guys doing?" Sakura, not wanting to be a casualty in their pillow fight, grabbed Ino's pillow mid swing and stuffed it behind her. "Hopefully not going to a bar, right?"

Karin bit her bottom lip and gave her a sheepish grin and a shrug. Sakura groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Eww! Don't do that." Karin gagged and pulled Sakura's hand away from her nose. "That's Sasuke's thing. Disgusting. We don't condone Sasuke-ish actions in this house."

"You're such a drama queen."

"They're going bowling," Ino giggled, "which is hilarious considering Karin is really competitive for someone with no hand-eye coordination."

"Shut up!" Karin pushed Ino off of her lap so that she rolled onto the floor. Turning to Sakura, she worried her lip and wrung her hands into the hem of her sweater. "Did I fuck up by letting her pick what we're doing?"

"Wow, you're really hung up on this aren't you?"

"Is no one going to ask me if I'm okay?" Ino grumbled, rolling onto her side.

"No," Karin and Sakura answered in sync.

"I just want this to go right for once," Karin explained, nudging Ino with her foot. "So, I don't know, I guess I'll take this slow for a change."

_Slow?_ Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. Why did it seem like everyone around her had a much better handle on their love life than she did? Well, everyone except Naruto who she had heard made a fool of himself his first week back at school by chasing after Gaara. It was something about Gaara's birthday but Sakura didn't get all of the details.

"Does hooking up first lower the chance of a relationship forming?" She muttered just loud enough for her friends to hear.

"I wouldn't say that," Ino treaded carefully. "Sai and I were supposed to just be a one time thing but that ended up as something."

"And then there's me who usually runs in the opposite direction if I see an old hookup somewhere," Karin offered with a shrug. "It's different for everyone."

"Why do you ask?" Ino narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I was just curious." Sakura looked past Ino's shoulder, not daring to look her in the eye. "Because of Karin's predicament."

"Okay…?" Ino pursed her lips. It was likely she was going to bring up the conversation again.

_I fucked up_, Sakura groaned inwardly. _No way is she going to just drop it._

* * *

_It's cold as balls!_

Sakura cupped her hands in front of her face and breathed on them for warmth. She hadn't planned on going for a run but she had insisted she needed the exercise when Ino picked up a call from Sai.

"_No, go ahead invite him over,"_ she argued, pulling on a pair of leggings. "_I'm probably going to stop by the gym too so take your time."_

She was trying to be considerate but mostly she wanted any excuse to escape the dorm room where Ino could corner her into having a conversation she really didn't want to have.

Using the excuse of much needed exercise, Sakura had changed into her work out gear and headed out. Exercising was more of an old habit than an attempt at staying slim. She was used to being active and staying still for too long made her feel restless.

During her ballet days if she weren't at the studio or using the open space of the Uchiha family's den she would be out running or at the gym to stay trim. She needed to stay in shape and stay conscious of her weight. There was a time she was obsessed with staying thin.

It didn't help that she wanted to look good for a certain someone. A certain someone that started to randomly ignore her halfway through high school.

Sakura shook her head and turned a corner, not wanting her thoughts to stray anywhere near that period of her life.

"Ah, fuck."

Of course she would end up in front of Sasuke's much nicer dorm building. It wasn't as if she had planned on it but somehow her feet still carried her there.

"Shit."

And of course as soon as she realized where she was Sasuke would be exiting his dorm, pulling his hood over his head.

"Oh." Sasuke stood before her. If he was surprised to see her no one would have ever known with how still his features were.

"I'm just out running."

"Oh."

_Oh? Really. Oh? Is that all I'm gonna get?_

Sakura shifted her weight on the balls of her feet. Leave it to Sasuke to make her feel like her skin was too tight with just a single word.

"Ino has Sai over so I thought maybe I should get some exercise in to give them some privacy."

Sasuke crossed his arms in front of his chest and nodded, more to let her know that he was listening than anything else.

"But I could skip the workout," Sakura offered nonchalantly. Her insides were squirming with his lack of response. "Or not."

She attempted to side step around him when a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She stared at him quizzically before his fingers slid down and intertwined with her own. Without saying a word he led her inside the lobby of his dorm.

Sasuke grabbed the clipboard from the front desk and filled out a line.

"Suite 302B."

_Oh?_

"ID card?" The clerk asked Sakura.

_Oh_!

Sakura took out her student identification card and handed it over. The clerk had barely stuffed it into the binder for guests when Sasuke was leading her down the hall to the elevator.

Not like she needed the run anyway.


	11. And So It Begins

**Chapter Eleven: And So It Begins**

Sakura's eyebrows drew down and she grumbled into the pillow. She made a low whining sound until Sasuke pulled up his quilt over her shoulders. He stroked down the curve of her spine and she sighed, snuggling her face against his pillow.

Sasuke traced the line of her spine down to the cleft of her butt. He paused for a moment there and then began a path lower until Sakura spoke up.

"I'm not that tired. You go anywhere near there and I'll punch you in the throat."

Ignoring her, he flattened his palm and squeezed.

"Hey!" Sakura reached over and pinched his arm.

Sasuke sighed and turned his head to where his alarm clock sat. Or had once sat. The space at the head of his bed was empty, all of the items having fallen off earlier. He had probably knocked them off when he held onto the headboard to keep it from smacking into the wall.

Or when he tossed Sakura up onto the bed.

He knew it wasn't the smartest place to perch his things but it kept him from having to hop off of his bed to turn off his alarm.

"What time is it?" Sakura murmured, rolling onto her side. She curled into him, sliding a leg between his. Sasuke drew her in closer, tucking her head under his chin. She would have been warmer if she got up to put her clothes on but she had a habit of lying around naked in the aftermath.

Sasuke wasn't sure if he enjoyed that or not. Her nudity was counterproductive to things he wanted to get done.

"Not sure. My alarm clock fell."

Sasuke felt her head shift against his body and then heard her snort.

"Your glasses are all foggy on one side."

"Yeah that happens."

"I should get going," she exhaled, but made no move to leave. Instead she curled back into Sasuke, wrapping an arm around his waist.

It was quiet for a few minutes and Sasuke was sure she had gone to sleep.

"Oi." He shook her shoulder gently. "You can't stay here naked. My roommate is going to come back eventually."

Shino had been preparing a mug of something when Sasuke was pulling Sakura into his suite style dorm. Sakura was barely a foot inside when Shino was taking his mug and his cellphone and leaving. Sasuke could only assume he went as far as one of the dorm building's communal areas considering he had shuffled out in his house slippers.

Sasuke wasn't even sure if Shino had remembered to take his key card for their dorm. He would have to text him when Sakura left.

"I don't wanna go back yet," Sakura mumbled against his chest, lips brushing on his skin. "Ino and Sai are watching one of those ocean documentaries."

"You like wild life documentaries."

"Yeah, but Ino doesn't. So who knows when documentary and chill will slip into the chill part of the evening."

"Documentary and Chill?" Sasuke snorted. Leave it to Sakura to call it something as dorky as that.

"Don't laugh, it's cute!" Sakura insisted, slapping him lightly on the chest. "She's trying so hard with this guy and when have you seen Ino put any real effort for anyone before?"

He had to think back to their middle school days. He wasn't very fond of Ino but if Sakura was there then so was she. Of course it didn't take long to realize that the girl had developed an annoying crush on him.

She had even forced herself to drink almond milk just because she thought Sasuke would like that she was considerate of his dietary needs. For weeks she suffered through dairy alternatives only to find out that _he_ wasn't the one that was lactose intolerant.

"_Then why do you drink it? It's gross." Ino wrinkled her nose and squirmed in her seat as if she needed to get as far away as possible from his cafeteria soy milk_.

"_You would think they would carry more alternatives to milk considering how common it is to be lactose intolerant." Sakura set her tray down with a huff. "And why does orange juice count as one of my fruit and vegetable portions? I'm already underweight for my age group as it is without them taking away one of my sources of nutrients. School lunch is ridiculous!"_

_Wordlessly, Sasuke offered her his carton of soy milk. He pushed it with a finger, sliding it across the table top until it hit Sakura's tray._

_He always arrived to the cafeteria sooner than the two of them considering they always ran off to the restroom together when their Algebra teacher released them for their lunch break._

_What they needed to do in the bathroom for so long he would never know._

_Looking up to check that Sakura accepted the carton was a mistake. He found himself in the receiving end of one of Ino Yamanaka's _looks. _The kind that usually had one of her other best friends heading in the opposite direction._

_She kept her eyes on him as she bit into one of Sakura's carrots._

"_Pig! Did you not hear my rant literally five seconds ago about my weight?"_

"_You're the only ballerina I know that worries that she's _too _skinny."_

_Rolling her eyes, she focused her attention on Sakura instead and tried to coax her into sharing one of the big chocolate chip cookies with her._

"_You even have your milk now to wash it down that was _sooo _generously given to you by Sasuke sweetie."_

"_Don't call me that." Sasuke stood up, pulling his legs up from over the attached stool._

_There was only so much time he could spend in Ino Yamanaka's presence. Her only redeeming quality was that she had instantly become friends with Sakura who had moved up a grade level and didn't have any friends in their class yet._

"_Where are you going?" Ino demanded. Sasuke did what he always did when it came to her and continued as if she never spoke up._

"_Sasuke?"_

_This time it was Sakura and with her it was always more difficult to pretend he hadn't heard her. He paused in the middle of cleaning up his lunch tray and reluctantly answered the question hidden in the call of his name._

"_Library."_

"_Wait for us!" Ino continued to call after him. She was awfully persistent. Sasuke didn't acknowledge her and just grabbed his backpack._

"_Save us some seats," Sakura chirped up, not even bothering to look up from rearranging her food on her tray in the order she was going to eat it._

"_Yeah, yeah," he answered her._

"_He blew me off again," he heard Ino complaining to Sakura. "You need to help me figure out what kind of girls he likes."_

He hadn't heard Sakura's response at the time. He had picked up the pace, increasing the distance between him and the girls, not wanting to hear Sakura offer her assistance.

"So what are you going to do then?"

They could clean up and go find something to do on campus. Even take the shuttle out to somewhere deeper in the city.

Sasuke had expected Sakura to avoid him when they returned to campus. It would have been karmic payback if she had decided that after coming back from holiday break that she would pretend nothing had happened.

He had prepared himself for that outcome. Sasuke spent the two hour drive back to the city avoiding taking too many glances at his sleepy passenger. If it weren't for her sleepy sighs and half murmurs that caused his eyes to stray from the road he wouldn't have believed she was there. Sakura could have made any excuse to avoid being trapped in a car with him, could have tried to stuff all of her things into Ino's car and driven back with the chatty girl or even beg her parents to drop her off at KU themselves.

But she hadn't.

"Can I sleep for like a week?" Sakura whined, shifting so that she was resting on her stomach. "I'm worn out."

"You did ask to be worked out."

Sakura propped herself up so she was resting on her forearms and gaped at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"Th-that is _not_ what I said!" She spluttered, cheeks burning a hot pink. "Geez..no one would believe me if I told them how dirty you are."

"Would you tell anyone?"

"Hmm?" Sakura hummed, settling back under his quilt.

Sasuke shook his head. The afterglow was not the moment to bring up _that_ conversation.

He watched as she curled up, making her body as compact as possible to keep warm. She nuzzled her face against his chest and sighed.

"I'm not ready for this semester at all. I have to start my shadowing hours now because I finished all of my prerequisites last semester."

"How many hours do you have to do?"

Sasuke curled an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Even though it was winter, he still got really warm and kept the heater lower than Sakura liked. She would whine a little and then seek out the warmth of his body.

"I gotta split it between medical related and non-medical related shadowing and then I have to do something medical related that's not just shadowing. It's split like ten hours and then five each of the other two categories to round up to twenty hours."

Sakura groaned and pressed her face into his chest more so that her lips moved against Sasuke's skin with her words.

"I have to do that every semester from now on on top of everything. I'm going to have no life!"

She grumbled softly, only easing out of her frustration when Sasuke dug his fingers into her hair and massaged her scalp. She exhaled and murmured against his skin.

"At least I finished the reading for UNIV. I hate when they assign reading over the semester breaks."

Sasuke tensed up at that and paused his massaging circles.

"...you didn't do the reading did you?"

"I was kind of _busy_ all break."

Sasuke could feel the skin on his chest warm up just from the contact with Sakura's face.

"I had my hands full." He slid his hand lower on her back and downward, cupping the curve of her backside. "Really full."

"Pervert." Sakura nudged him until she was free of his hold.

Sasuke fell back against the mattress and watched as she settled one knee on each side of his hips and straddled him. He watched curiously as she nestled his cock between her folds and dragged herself back and forth up the length. He gripped her hips and guided her grinding.

"We should try me on top again," Sakura suggested with a swivel of her hips.

"Are you forgetting what happened last," Sasuke exhaled deeply, unsuccessfully hiding a moan as she added more pressure and increased the friction, "time?"

"I'm sure I can accommodate for our size differences this time." Sakura braced her hands on his sternum and swiveled her hips again. "I'll just go slow."

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm not the impatient one here." Sakura clucked her tongue at him. "You practically threw me against the wall trying to get me in bed."

"You're annoying," Sasuke panted, covering his eyes with an arm. He didn't want to get worked up just for her to end up in the fetal position and cursing him again.

"Bet I'm not so annoying when you're rammed all the way up my—"

"_Annoying,_" Sasuke hissed, grabbing her hips to halt her movements. "We can't anyway. That was the last condom earlier."

There had only been one time they had been irresponsible—the day against the washing machine in the Haruno house—and Sasuke wasn't having any repeats. The drive to the pharmacy for an emergency contraceptive was awkward enough, he wasn't going through the ordeal again by walking to the campus health center.

"Hmm," Sakura hummed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I can use my mouth."

"No you can't," Sasuke groaned. Sakura was attempting to fight the hold of his hands and kept moving her hips back and forth. She was going to be the death of him. "I'm covered in lube from the condom."

"Right. Ick."

"What happened to being tired?" Sasuke muttered, rolling Sakura off of his lap. He was already irritated that he had forgotten about the assigned reading and now he had a throbbing erection to deal with.

"The reminder that I'm probably going to be too busy for anything once the semester starts gave me a rush of adrenaline."

Sakura stretched her arms over her head before sitting up and hopping off of his bed.

"Where's my stuff?" She picked up her underwear up on top of Sasuke's printer and slipped it on. "You have a printer? And I've been paying to print stuff at the library?"

"You use my printer, you help pay for ink." Sasuke rolled onto his side and watched as she gathered her belongings from where they had landed around the room.

He chose not to remind her that their first three semesters at KU was spent avoiding each other unless it was absolutely necessary to interact.

"That's still a better deal than fighting people just to get to one that works at the library."

Silently agreeing, Sasuke finally slid off from his bed and grabbed his clothing as well. He was hesitant to ask if she wanted to do anything else but he could at least walk her down to the lobby.

"Give me a sec," he told her as she shrugged on her coat.

"You don't have to come down with me. I'm sure you wanna you know," Her eyes shifted down to his crotch and then back to his face, cheeks turning pink, "clean up."

Sasuke gave her an unimpressed look and slipped on his boxer briefs. Sakura shook her head and used his arm as a support as she stood on her toes planting a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Besides, you can't waste any time you should be using to do your reading," she said in a singsong.

"Shit," Sasuke breathed out. He had almost forgotten about it again.

"Good night, Sasuke." She stood on her toes one more time to give him a kiss and this time he returned it, before she shuffled out of his door.

He listened to the sound of the door to the suite open and closed before he searched the room for the rest of his clothes. He picked up everything that had fallen, including his cell phone which gratefully hasn't sustained any damage from falling from the height of the dorm bed.

The first thing he noticed was a missed call from Kiba Inuzuka and a few texts from him and one from Shino.

Considering Shino had been Kiba's penpal and Kiba had introduced them to each other when Sasuke needed to find a roommate, Sasuke wouldn't have been surprised if Shino has mentioned to Kiba that Sasuke had a girl over.

_I don't have the energy to deal with this_, Sasuke grumbled inwardly, swiping away the notifications. He sent a quick text to Shino to inform him that he was able to come back to their room but tossed his phone on his bed ignoring Kiba's texts.

He was sure Kiba would try to contact him again the following day. He was like Naruto that way, persistent as hell, but at least he gave him the space after the first few attempts. He just happened to come back like a dog that would keep after it's owner.

If Shino had described the girl he had been with Kiba would know that it was Sakura and that would explain all of the texts. He would just have to hope that right now was one of those periods that Kiba was annoyed with Naruto and wouldn't bring up anything to him. That was the last person Sasuke wanted to know about what was going on with him and Sakura.

Whatever it was that was going on.

It was still confusing but he did know what it would be disastrous if everyone else knew what had been going on between them before he could clearly define for himself what it was. He was going to need to deal with that soon.

_But first, a shower._

* * *

Karin was humming and usually that was a bad sign, especially before she had any caffeine in her system, but Sakura couldn't help but find her cute.

When she had come back from her date she had burst through the door of Ino and Sakura's room and practically launched herself on top of Sakura's bed. At first Sakura thought she was upset but Karin had just laid there with a dreamy expression on her face. It had clearly been a good night.

She was in such a good mood she didn't even care about having to wake up early the following Monday for the first day of classes which annoyed Sakura who was still upset over her new packed schedule.

"Where are you off to now?" Sakura questioned as she wrapped her infinity scarf around her neck.

"Comp-Sci. I'll probably run into Sasuke 'cause we gotta take most of the same classes." Karin reached over and adjusted Sakura's beanie. "Can't wait to bug him all semester."

"Ughh, I gotta go to Orgo. Ino has it on different days but we have the same professor so that's something at least."

"Why? Because it makes it easier to help her study for tests?"

"Exactly."

Karin snickered and swung her backpack over her shoulder. Ino had been a brat the entire night before because unfortunately for her, she had no choice but to take her Organic Chemistry class in the morning.

"You want to grab a real lunch today or just get some doughnuts?"

"Doughnuts require more walking but I'm also craving some real bad." Sakura took out her planner and groaned. "I can't. I have UNIV after Orgo."

"Sucks to suck," Karin taunted her. "I'm completely free today after Comp-Sci."

Sakura clasped her hands together and pouted. Karin rolled her eyes and nodded. Sakura threw her arms around her torso and squeezed her tight.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Sakura lifted Karin up and put her back down. "Make sure to grab some of the maple bacon ones please. And french crullers, those are my favorite."

"You owe me!" Karin shouted after her but Sakura just waved back at her as she rushed out of the building to make her way to the one housing her class.

* * *

Sasuke had half a mind to skip his UNIV class. He had wasted so much energy on spending an entire two hour class with Karin. When he saw her enter the computer lab he had tried to hide behind his monitor but it was too late. She had noticed he was in the room faster than he could duck and she made a beeline straight to the only computer available next to him.

Sasuke always chose the most inconvenient seat so that he would only have to deal with one neighbor. It didn't matter where he sat, he would learn just fine.

Not that it deterred Karin from taking the seat right next to him.

He was already tired from the phone call with Kiba the night before. He had teased him in between bouts of barely concealed snickering that they could double date but congratulated him. That was the better part of the phone call before Kiba started complaining about Naruto and how he was moping and being clingy because Gaara wouldn't even look at him.

"_That's not my problem,"_ Sasuke had told him before hanging up. Kiba of course had attempted to call back repeatedly but finally gave up after the fifth time he reached Sasuke's voicemail.

He would have skipped but he knew better than to waste any of his allowed absences on the first day of the semester.

Sasuke had finally opened up the assigned reading and read the section he was meant to have read by the first day of classes. There was a small voice in the back of his mind reminding him that Sakura had already read it and that there was a high chance that she had actually finished reading the entire text and made annotations.

The only positive of the mandatory UNIV class was that it counted as the English credits he would need for his degree without actually taking any English courses.

As soon as he entered the lecture hall he headed straight for the back row. It was the least recommended section to be in but it almost always ensured that he wouldn't be sitting next to anyone unless it was a large class. Even then he would only have one seat neighbor considering he sat in the very last seat in the row.

One by one his classmates filed in, choosing seats as close to the front as possible. Feeling secure in his decision he pulled out his text and notebook from his messenger bag and reviewed what he had read the day before.

"What? You didn't finish the reading yet?"

Sasuke shifted his gaze to the right and caught Sakura pulling out her materials from her backpack. As soon as she had everything she needed, she shifted in her seat so that she was facing him.

"Hey," she greeted him. "Fancy meeting you here."

For the first time since high school, Sakura Haruno was in one of his classes.


	12. More Than You Need To Know

**Chapter Twelve: More Than You Need To Know**

Sakura drummed the pads of her fingers against her face. She was hunched over in the sitting area of the pharmacy, not happy to be wasting her time.

_What's the point of messaging people that their prescriptions are ready if you're just going to make them wait?_ Sakura growled in frustration, her leg bouncing in impatience.

"Haruno?" The pharmacist called out from behind the counter.

"Finally," Sakura muttered under her breath. She waited for them to ring her up and she handed them the coupon the OBGYN's receptionist gave her before she left their office.

Not wanting Ino or Karin to know what she was up to, she had told them she was off to another interview at the associated hospital. Instead, what she really was doing was running off to get her pap smear and a prescription for birth control filled.

The two of them had been unbearable the past two weeks. She would tell them she was off to the library or to a study group and they would both give her knowing looks.

_Imagine how they would act if they knew that I'm already sleeping with Sasuke._

Sakura stuffed her packet from the pharmacy into her backpack and headed to the bus stop. She was able to take the university's shuttle to the hospital where the office was located but had to make her own way to the pharmacy she prefered.

"_If you're going to the doctor, I can drive you there,"_ Sasuke had offered. If it had been any other doctor she would have let him but for this she wanted some privacy. Even though Sasuke would be her only sexual partner ever, she wasn't getting the birth control pills for him but for herself.

Hopping on the bus, Sakura took the first available seat she could find. She really needed to consider getting a bike, especially if she planned to find an apartment in the city after the semester ended.

_I would need to room with someone, probably Ino or Karin...maybe both._

Sakura opened up her phone and opened up the real estate application she had downloaded. Almost everything in the city was so expensive but it would be cheaper than living in the dorms after she calculated all of the fees.

Sakura was scrolling through single room apartments when her phone began to ring.

"Hey."

"_What up, bitch?"_ Ino drawled through the speaker. "_Karin is spending the night at Tennie's so I'm picking you up from the bus stop so we can go get some dinner."_

"You don't sound very excited about spending time with me," Sakura responded with mock hurt in her tone.

"_Nah, I'm just careening down Satan's waterfall right now and I don't wanna go out but I'm also starving."_

"Any clue where you wanna go out to eat?" Sakura sandwiched her phone between her ear and shoulder as she twisted the top off of her bottle.

"_I kinda wanna eat everything and anything so I'm just letting Sasuke sweetie here pick."_

Sakura tried her best not to spit out her water but the next thing to come through the speaker had the water forcefully coming out of her nose.

"_I told you to stop calling me that. Don't you have a boyfriend?"_

Only Ino would have no problem talking so casually about her menses in front of Sasuke. Considering she had bled through a sweatshirt of his before, Sakura no longer cared but she knew that Karin would rather die than let a "hottie" know about her monthly flow. The last time she was asked for a tampon in front of Itachi she started screaming to cut off Sakura's question.

"_Oh, you know I love fucking with you, Sasuke sweetie. So how long until you get here? You okay? Something sounded like a fire hydrant exploding."_

"I'm fine," Sakura coughed. "Soon. I'm a stop away."

She had no idea how Ino convinced Sasuke to leave his dorm and hang out with her, but Sakura was elated that he was joining them. The three of them had been schoolmates and had been in the same social circle ever since Sakura joined them in the eighth grade but toward the end of their junior year of high school there had been a sort of rift. They still hung out in huge groups but usually Sasuke was off with other people or hanging out with Ino's ex-boyfriend, Kiba, and Choji.

It was a strange time in their life. Sakura was feeling awkward, feeling so behind sexually than all of her friends. And then when she finally got her answer, Sasuke started avoiding her.

She had wondered if maybe he had figured out what she had herself and decided to keep his distance. But the events of the past month ran into conflict with that theory.

"Are you guys about to make me get back on the bus?" Sakura groaned when she got off at the university bus stop. Ino and Sasuke were standing there waiting for her. She had expected to meet them in one of their cars.

"You know there's almost never any parking available on Fridays." Ino pulled Sakura into a hug, pressing her face into the bulge of her chest. "It's okay, I'll keep you warm while we wait for our bus."

"Ino. It's going to snow at any moment, why are you wearing heels?" Sakura asked, voice muffled against Ino's peacoat.

"A lady is never seen without her heels."

"Bitch, you weren't wearing them all week."

"Bus is here," Sasuke interrupted before Ino could retort back. Not waiting for Ino, Sasuke used a hand on the small of Sakura's back to guide her to their bus.

Sakura looked over her shoulder, searching for Ino's reaction to Sasuke's casual touch. She found nothing. Ino just walked behind them as if it were the most natural thing.

_Maybe I'm overthinking it?_ Sakura shrugged and climbed up the bus stairs. Sasuke found an empty seat and offered it to her.

"Ahem?" Ino nudged Sasuke in the ribs. "You could have offered _me_ the seat. I am the one in heels."

Sasuke just stared at her impassively for a moment. The bus had left the stop before he finally turned away, not answering her.

"Great," Ino huffed. "Just like old times."

* * *

She was staring and it was irritating him so much that he was grinding his teeth.

Ino Yamanaka had a gift of being completely oblivious when she wanted to be, but then completely observant and sharp when one didn't want her to be.

For all of elementary school until freshman year of high school, she followed him around and clung to him despite Sasuke rejecting her advances at every turn. At some point Sasuke believed she was an idiot for not understanding his clear disinterest in her.

It didn't take him long to realize she was interpreting things in a way that benefited her. When they were eight she believed he simply wasn't interested in girls yet. In eighth grade Ino came up with the theory that perhaps he was interested in men instead. Sasuke couldn't understand why she didn't get the clue that he just wasn't attracted to her physically or as a person without there being something lacking in him that caused the lack of interest.

Tenth grade had Ino flipping a complete one-eighty on how she approached him. She continued to attempt to flirt with him in a way that made it seem like she couldn't avoid it, it was like breathing. But it didn't stop her from dating whoever she wanted. The year before she dangled the boys in front of him, trying to make him jealous without the result she wanted. At age sixteen, Ino finally got the hint that was screaming in her face.

Finally moving on from Sasuke, Ino saw something in him that he hoped she never would.

"So, Sasuke sweetie," Ino absentmindedly braided her hair, "what have you decided on for dinner?"

"Yeah, we should—"

"It's too early for dinner," Ino interrupted him. "We should walk around and check out the shops."

_Of course_. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked out the bus window. _She never makes anything straightforward and simple._

Ino had run into him on her way back to her dorm, almost quite literally. If Sasuke's reflexes were slower he probably would have sent her flying when he turned the corner.

"_Hey,"_ she had called out to him when he tried to walk away. "_Are you still into Sakura?"_

Sasuke sighed and laid his head against the arm holding onto the overhead handrail. Leave it to Ino to figure out his secret.

"_I don't know what you're talking about," _was his reply, but Ino had dug her nails into his arm when she grabbed, forcing him to stay put.

"_I'm trying to help you, moron."_

"Ino, you can't just drag us around while you shop," Sakura scolded her. "Sasuke is a busy person."

"It's Friday. What could he possibly be busy with?"

"I don't know, Ino. Homework maybe? Studying? We attend one of the top private universities in the country, of course he's busy."

Sasuke tuned the girls out as they argued. Ino was right that he wasn't going to be working on any schoolwork. He had planned on inviting Sakura over if she was feeling alright after her doctor's appointment.

Sakura bucking her hips against his mouth was preferable over whatever torture Ino planned for the evening, but here he was, heading into the city with the two of them.

"Alright! Here's our stop." Ino yanked Sakura out of her seat and pulled on Sasuke's arm with more force than necessary.

Sasuke took one quick look at the shops at the bus stop and made a beeline for the Doc Martens store.

"Hey!" Ino called after him but Sasuke didn't turn back around and entered the store. He knew as soon as he saw the lingerie store that Ino was going to drag the three of them inside.

Ignoring the sales associates, Sasuke examined the wall of boots. The heel was worn out on his own pair and it was a good idea to replace them now that he was out.

"Those look good."

Sasuke did a double take as Sakura reached over and pulled a boot from the wall.

"Why aren't you with Ino?"

"She was convinced I went up a cup size and felt me up so I left." Sakura scowled and set the boot back on the wall before picking up a pair of yellow boots.

"Was she wrong?" Sasuke asked, mostly to see her get more riled up more than actual curiosity.

"She wasn't but it was rude," Sakura grumbled. "Sometimes I feel like she and Karin forget I'm a person and not a doll they can do whatever they want with."

"Hey." Gently, Sasuke grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him. "What did she do? I mean, other than grope you."

"I don't wanna talk about it." Sakura ran her hands down her face and blew a raspberry in an attempt to relax. Sasuke tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and waited for her to compose herself. "She shouldn't have dragged you out. How _did_ she drag you out?"

* * *

"_What do you mean you're trying to help me?" Sasuke scoffed, pulling his arm out of her grip. Ino wasn't the type to do something just because she was nice. "I don't need your help."_

_Even at thirteen he knew that she originally became friends with Sakura because she wanted her as an accessory. What better tag along for the most popular girl in school than the prettiest girl in school?_

"_Fine. You don't need my help. But Sakura does." Ino circled around him slowly like a shark. She stopped in front of him and sighed._

"_What are you getting at?"_

"_Oh, nothing." Ino shrugged and pursed her lips. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked Sasuke up and down. "I just want Sakura to finally go out and date _someone _and Karin got it in her head that better you than some random fuckboy we don't really know."_

"_Sakura doesn't need your help to find a date." Sasuke matched her pose and crossed his arms in front of his chest, glaring down his nose at her. "You're just being nosy."_

"_That's where you're wrong." Ino narrowed her eyes at him, jaw jutting out and nostrils flaring. "You don't know Sakura like I do. Because of your little disappearing act you can't claim to know her best anymore."_

_Sasuke refused to let the guilt show on his face. He knew that in order to protect his own feelings he had hurt Sakura, but that wasn't anyone's business but his and Sakura's so Ino needed to back off._

"_Despite that, Karin and I have decided that if it had to be anyone," Ino waved a hand, gesturing to all of him, "you were the best candidate. So just go with it, 'cause I know that's what you want."_

* * *

Sasuke shrugged and averted his gaze back to the wall of shoes. "I was just hungry."

"Well, now you're stuck with us." Sakura clasped her hands behind her back and nudged him with her shoulder. It was a light, good humored tap and she smiled that same soft smile that made his chest ache.

"You think we could ditch her?" Sasuke nudged her back.

"What? You want to have dinner with just me?" Sakura fluttered her eyelashes at him in mock flirtation.

_Yes._

"That's mean, Sasuke sweetie."

The two of them whipped their heads around. Ino stood behind them, tapping a foot, a small pink shopping bag in hand.

"I hate when she calls me that," Sasuke muttered.

"You're ridiculously easy to shop for." Ino ignored him and with a lazy swing of the bag she handed it off to Sakura. "They're always stocked in your sizes, you lucky bitch."

"Please tell me you didn't buy my something skanky and expensive."

"Expensive? No, there's a bunch of sales 'cause Valentine's Day is approaching." Sasuke chose to ignore the way she eyed him at the mention of the upcoming holiday. "Skanky? Please, I'm classier than that, I got you something tasteful. Don't worry, I know you hate thongs."

Sakura peeked into the bag and then stashed it into her backpack before Sasuke could see what it was. Whatever it was, it had her cheeks burning a hot shade of pink.

"Can we go eat?" She squeaked, pulling her hood over her head.

"Yeah, sure." Ino turned to Sasuke and asked him, "Where are we going?"

* * *

Ino wanted Korean barbecue but Sasuke vetoed the suggestion—complaint—and he led them to a spot he liked for hot pot. Ino had looked to Sakura for help but she gave her a sheepish grin and followed after Sasuke. It was cold and Sakura wanted hot pot.

"At least Karin's not with us," Sasuke muttered, taking his coat off once they were seated. "She eats as much as Choji."

"I have to carry snacks with me so she won't complain about being hungry in the middle of our lectures." Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed the menu.

"I should start doing that too. She kept whining in the computer lab and almost got us kicked out."

"Can we not order it super spicy," Sakura pleaded. "I'll die."

"We'll get it medium heat, not mild."

"Is no one going to ask about _my_ preferences?" Ino scoffed, acting affronted.

"We'll get lots of meat for you, Pig." Sakura stuck her tongue out at Ino who was seated directly across from her.

The seating arrangements were odd. Ino had practically pushed Sasuke down into the seat next to Sakura after she chose her own seat.

While Sasuke talked to the waiter, Ino kept making faces at her. She raised her eyebrows suggestively and kept nodding her head in Sasuke's direction. Sakura kicked her under the table.

"Ow! You bitch," Ino hissed, bending down to rub her shin.

"Stop being weird!" Sakura hissed back under her breath.

"Who's being weird?" Sasuke asked after the waiter walked away.

"Naruto," Ino answered immediately. "Kiba says he's been moping about for a month now."

Ino was the only person Sakura knew that was best friends with their ex. It was the most amicable break up she had ever witnessed.

"He was dumped, Ino," Sakura defended him. She knew Sasuke wouldn't especially from the insult he muttered under his breath.

"He deserved to be dumped." Ino took a prim sip of her tea. "He was being selfish and only wanted the open relationship to be open for him. Gaara did the right thing and I have never seen him happier. Look at this pic Temari sent me. Lee is so good for him."

Ino slid her phone across the table. Gaara and Lee were in matching Suna State t-shirts at a basketball game for their university. Gaara even had some face paint on and was smiling, a rare occurrence when he was in crowds.

"Aww," Sakura squealed. "Well, we always knew Lee was a good boyfriend. He and Neji just weren't going to last past high school."

"Doesn't help that he cheated on him with Naruto at that party," Sasuke muttered. "He was drunk, but still."

"God, our friends are so messy." Ino rubbed her temple with the heel of her palm. "Did anyone that dated in high school stay together?"

"Shikamaru and Temari," Sakura supplied. "Though, if it weren't for Temari I think Shikamaru would have been single for the rest of his life."

"Thank you, Temari," Ino raised her glass of tea, "for making the ultimate sacrifice and dating the guy voted least likely to get a girlfriend by everyone in our year."

"How did Shikamaru earn that and not Lee?" Sasuke's brows furrowed in confusion. "What vote?"

"As confused as the boy was when he was chasing Sakura around, he was at least sweet and girls love romantic guys." Ino scooted back to make room for the meat and vegetables the server was placing on their table. "I love him, he's one of my best friends, but Shikamaru isn't exactly boyfriend material. I'm pretty sure if it weren't Temari he was dating, it would have never lasted."

"The girls in our graduating class made a couple of lists during junior year," Sakura answered Sasuke's second question as she peeled the wrapper of her straw. "It was so childish, but they divided the guys up by who was dateable, who was bangable, and who was neither. Shikamaru got the most votes for neither."

"Choji got most dateable, I'm so proud." Ino wiped a fake tear. "You got must fuckable of course, Sasuke."

"I didn't need to know that." Sasuke scrunched up his face in disgust.

"As if you guys didn't have your own list," Ino snapped at him over the bubbling pot. "Kiba tells me everything."

"Yeah, you guys are the weirdest exes by the way."

"I don't care, I'm still pissed off that I ended up as second for most fuckable and in sixth for most dateable. I'm a fucking prize, thanks."

"Who was first for both?"

"You don't need to know," Ino and Sasuke answered in sync. They stared at each other in shock until Sasuke averted his gaze.

"Trust me, hon," Ino patted Sakura on the arm, "it's best that you don't know."

"You just gave away the answer, and eww." Sakura shivered. "You would think not dating and making a point not to date would have made me the least sexualized person."

"And yet, it made you even more popular." Ino pursed her lips, clearly still feeling bitter about the whole thing. She rolled her eyes and and tied her hair up in a ponytail to get it out of the way. "I'm kidding. You're smart and nice and hot. You were just so oblivious to it in high school. Still are."

"I'm not oblivious." Sakura frowned, feeling a little insulted. "I'm just busy. And I'm, well, you know...the other problem."

"It's not a problem," Ino snapped, nostrils flaring. "Stop saying that about yourself."

Sakura sank into her seat. It was always the same whenever the issue of her sexuality was brought up. Ino always got defensive—a side effect of being bisexual and also suffering from people pretending her sexuality wasn't real. She had trusted Ino with that information but now it seemed that Ino was about to expose it in front of Sasuke and that would make things awkward and confusing considering what they had been up to for the past month.

"There's _nothing_ wrong with being asexual."

* * *

After Ino had dropped a bombshell of a revelation, dinner was the last thing Sasuke wanted. She then made it even more awkward when her boyfriend showed up and the four of them went their separate ways.

The ride back to campus was done in relative silence. He and Sakura sat together awkwardly, both avoiding speaking.

The whole bus ride back he went over his relationship with Sakura and everything they had done since winter break. Did he cross a line he shouldn't have? Did he make her uncomfortable in anyway? Was she forcing herself to continue their physical relationship? She seemed enthusiastic most of the time, but maybe he was seeing what he wanted to see.

They were halfway up the hill to the dormitories when Sakura finally spoke up.

"Are we going to talk about what Ino said?"

_No_. "Yeah."

Sasuke turned around so that he was facing her. She looked smaller than she normally did and the incline wasn't helping. He walked back down the hill until they were more level to each other.

"Why do you let me—why are we—" Sasuke covered his mouth a hand and inhaled deeply through his nose. He closed his eyes and then exhaled. "Just...why?"

"Because I want to." Sakura spoke clearly, determined eyes boring into his, insisting that he believe her. "Besides Ino was only partially right. I'm demisexual. And asexual people _can_ want sex."

Sasuke sighed, cupping his neck with both hands. He rolled his neck and thought over what Sakura had just said. He knew she wasn't lying, she sucked at lying. It wouldn't do any good to fight with her about it.

"I was going to go back home for the weekend tomorrow, but I think I'm just going to head out now. Did you wanna go home?"

Sakura nodded her head and shoved her hands into her coat pockets. "I just need to grab some stuff and my laundry. Meet you in front of Hiruzen Hall?"

"Yeah. I gotta grab some stuff too. I'll pick you up in like forty minutes."

* * *

Sakura only fell asleep when Sasuke was the one driving. With everyone else, she was always on edge, wary of every little choice the driver made. But not with Sasuke.

With Sasuke behind the wheel, it was so easy to curl up in the front seat and just doze off or watch the trees blur as he sped down the highway. She felt safe.

She always felt safe with Sasuke. And at home. Sakura could sit in his car, the heater turned on high, and ride for hours if Sasuke was the one driving. Just to wander aimlessly without a destination.

"It's snowing," she said softly, dragging her finger down the cold window, chasing the fat flakes as they fell.

"It's a good thing we're home. Wouldn't want to drive when it gets worse."

Sasuke pulled up in front of their houses and parked on the street. He turned the heat off and then the lights before turning the car off and returning the heat settings back for the next time he started his car.

"They're probably asleep and the chain's probably up." Sakura bit her lower lip. "You know them. Early to bed, early to rise."

While she had texted Karin and Ino to let them know she went home for the weekend, she hadn't bothered to call her parents, knowing they would stay up to greet her despite needing to wake up before the sun.

"You can stay at my place. My parents are probably asleep too, but it's not like it's the first time you would be staying the night. Come on."

Sakura grabbed her backpack, not wanting to leave her laptop in Sasuke's car and out in the cold. They moved in silence, carefully unlocking the door and disabling the alarm, they tiptoed up the steps. Sasuke paused in front of his bedroom door and looked back at her. There was a guest room and Itachi's old bedroom; there was no need for her to stay with him in his room.

No need, but Sakura didn't want to sleep anywhere else. It must have shown on her face because without a word, Sasuke led her into his bedroom. Sakura grabbed her stuff and headed to the hallway bathroom to get ready for bed.

She took her time brushing her teeth and washing her face. She massaged her night cream into her skin in small circles, dragging out her night routine for as long as possible.

In her fantasies of Sasuke, he was always rough with her and they never looked at each other. He would take her from behind so she wouldn't have to see his face, but most importantly he wouldn't see hers. He wouldn't see the longing.

Reality was so much different. Even when he was pounding her into his mattress, Sasuke treated her with care. And that care scared her. Sakura didn't want to get comfortable, so used to his gentle ways, only for it all to be taken away.

Sakura closed Sasuke's bedroom door behind her, making sure to lock it.

Sasuke was already in his bed, turned to the door. He lifted the comforter up, inviting her to join him.

She climbed into bed and he pulled her closer, enveloping her in his warmth. The blankets had trapped his body heat and they smelled like fabric softener. Sakura assumed Mikoto had washed the sheets and comforter earlier, knowing Sasuke would be coming back on the weekend.

Sasuke's arm wrapped around her waist and he tucked his leg between her thighs as she hitched her leg over his. Sighing, Sakura tucked her head under his chin.

"You're not going to be weird now are you?" Sakura murmured, adjusting her body so she was curled against him in a more comfortable position. Sasuke ran his hand up and down her back soothingly.

"Can't say I won't be thinking about it."

"Oh," Was all she could say. She couldn't blame him for that. It was one of the reasons she never wanted him to find out.

Sasuke could feel her withdrawing, pulling away from him, and tightened his hold on her. "That's not saying that I want nothing to do with you anymore, Sakura."

"Then what does that mean?"

"It means," Sasuke moved his hand up to her hair and massaged soothing circles against her scalp, "I'll be thinking about what you want. Wondering if what I do is okay."

"It's okay," Sakura responded quickly. She didn't want him to stop trying to touch her now that he knew. "You don't have to change anything."

She buried her face into his cotton t-shirt and gripped the back of his shirt tightly. It wasn't as close as she wanted to be, but it helped her anchor herself, assure herself that he was still there and that she was still allowed in his bed, in his room, in his life.

"And you don't have to just think. You can ask me and I'll always answer honestly."

"Okay then," Sasuke pulled back so he could look Sakura in the eye, "what _do_ you want?"

There were many things she wanted. She wanted more time, so she wasn't always stressing over deadlines. She wanted Ino and Karin to just let her be, she knew what could make her happy. She didn't need their interference.

Sakura wanted Sasuke. She had wanted him since she was twelve and that want had only grown stronger as the years went by. Even if she was only a friend—a neighbor that irritated him by always getting ahead of him in school. She wanted a piece of Sasuke that was just for her..

But mostly she wanted to be wanted in return.

In the dark of his bedroom, under the covers and smells of home, Sakura whispered, "You."


	13. Stuck (Again)

**Chapter Thirteen: Stuck (Again)**

Sakura sighed, pushing her head back against the pillow she lay on and exposing her neck in the process. She giggled when Sasuke latched onto it with his lips. He continued to trail kisses up her neck to her jawline, pressing them all over her face.

"Hey…" Sakura whined softly causing him to laugh through his nose before he gave her what she wanted and pressed his lips to hers.

Sasuke caged her head between his forearms, holding himself up with them so he wouldn't crush her. Sakura loved when he did that. She felt so safe and cared for, especially when he curled the strands of her hair around his fingers as his mouth moved languidly with hers.

"Hey," Sakura breathed out as Sasuke caressed her nose with his own, "do you think your parents are up yet?"

She stroked his ribs lightly underneath his shirt, bending her knees to pull him closer to her. Sasuke dropped his weight and grinded his hips against hers, rubbing his hardness through their clothes. He pressed even harder against her when she hooked her ankles together on the small of his back, causing a moan to roll from her mouth onto his tongue.

"They probably won't wake up for another hour or━"

"Sasuke? Honeeeey?"

"Or now," Sasuke groaned, dropping his head into the crook of Sakura's neck and shoulder.

"She probably saw your car sitting out front," Sakura whispered. She raised her hips to meet his and continued to grind them together."Do you think if we're quiet she'll think you're sleeping and leave you alone?"

"Maybe." His breath hitched when Sakura's hands wandered down to stroke his lower stomach near the band of his sweatpants. "What? You're not ready for her to start stuffing you with breakfast yet?"

"I just want to make out with my boyfriend." The corners of her lips twitched around that last word. Boyfriend. Sasuke Uchiha was her boyfriend now. Unable to contain her glee, a smile spread across her face. She slipped her hands past the waistband of his boxers, gripping the base of his shaft.

"Keep that up and it won't end at just making out."

Sakura giggled softly as he groaned against her shoulder. She tugged on his cock and he kissed anywhere his mouth could reach with approval.

"Sasuke?" They heard Mikoto call for him, much closer than before.

Sasuke rolled over with a groan. "Can you go distract her? I'm going to the bathroom to take care of this."

Stretching her arms, Sakura sat up and patted herself, making sure that her pajamas were properly on before grabbing his hoodie from its place on his chair and slipping out of his room.

"Sakura!" Mikoto wrapped her arms around her shoulders and hugged her as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "I didn't know you were coming back home this weekend. Good thing I cooked a lot. Where's that boy?"

"He went to the bathroom. Said he would be down soon."

"Huh?" Mikoto quirked an eyebrow up. "Usually getting him up before eleven is a struggle. Oh well, let's eat up. I swear you're always so much skinnier when you come back from school."

Sakura took her usual seat at the breakfast table and let Mikoto pile eggs and turkey sausage on her plate. She hummed at necessary intervals as Sasuke's mother chatted away, answering any questions directed towards her.

There wasn't much of a change to how things usually were. This was how Sakura always interacted with Mikoto. It wasn't even strange that she had slept over the first night of the weekend when she visited. Mikoto didn't even question why she was wearing Sasuke's white and navy blue striped zip up hoodie.

It was just an ordinary Saturday morning in the Uchiha household. Ordinary to everyone that wasn't Sakura.

After her declaration the night before, Sakura was fully prepared to be rejected. Love and sex didn't have to go hand in hand. Just because it did for her, it didn't mean it did for Sasuke.

"_Me?" Sasuke had cupped her face in his hands and rubbed circles with his thumbs on the sensitive skin under her eyes. "You have me."_

"_No, like," Sakura licked her lips, "actually have you. I want all of you."_

But he had responded with tender kisses and telling her that she had him for as long as she wanted him.

There was no sex last night and Sakura was sure it had something to do with what they had discussed before that, but Sasuke still held her and kissed her and there was nothing to complain about. Not when he made her feel like she was everything.

"'Morning," Sasuke greeted them and took the seat closest to Sakura. Nothing out of the ordinary there. His designated seat had always been right next to her.

"Mwuah!" Mikoto grabbed his face and placed a loud kiss on the top of his head. Sasuke grumbled at the contact but made no move to pull away. "Good morning, my love. You're up early."

"Someone wouldn't let me sleep."

"_You're_ the one that woke me up." Sakura nudged him with her foot under the table. She had been so warm and comfortable and would have kept sleeping if it weren't for Sasuke _poking_ her.

Mikoto chuckled softly, pouring herself some tea. "You two are like an old married couple."

Sakura chose the wrong moment to take a gulp of orange juice and began choking. Sasuke thumped her back lightly until she held her hand up and told him she was good.

Sasuke's mother had always made comments like that. It started from when she was five and forced Sasuke to play house with her. It got to be embarrassing when Sakura was fourteen and attempting to hide her crush on her son, but now it was awkward because Sasuke had only been her boyfriend less than eight hours.

The both of them had decided to keep it a secret that they were together until they were both back at their university. Being back home for the weekend meant they didn't have to worry about their friends impeding on their time alone and if their parents found out there wouldn't be any alone time at all.

"After you finish eating, you're going to want to clean the snow off of your car, honey." Mikoto gave him a sympathetic smile. "It will just make it harder to deal with if you wait."

Sneaking her hand under the table to grab Sasuke's, she held onto two of his fingers and squeezed lightly. "I'll help," she muttered.

"You don't wanna go home?" Sasuke asked softly, brows drawn together in confusion. Sakura simply shook her head. No one would be home and she wanted to drag her time with Sasuke out as long as possible.

It was a selfish desire she used to make excuses for in the past. Comparing test results, making sure they didn't do the same project for class, no one was home and she needed to come over, was sent over to help with something, etc. But now she didn't have to make up any excuse.

A girlfriend could spend time together just because they wanted to.

And she was going to milk that as much as possible.

* * *

"Asshole!" Sakura shrieked, shivering as the snow slipped down her back. Quickly, she crouched down behind Sasuke's car and packed snow into a ball before popping back up and flinging it at her traitor boyfriend.

She had been so kind as to help him free his car from all of the snow only for him to lift her up and throw her into the snow on his front yard. It was soft and she didn't feel any pain on the landing but it was _freezing_. It had led to them chasing each other around. Sakura was smaller and her feet easily stuck in the half foot of snow, causing her to constantly fall down.

"Shit!" Sasuke slipped on a patch of snow on the recently exposed asphalt. Taking advantage, Sakura took some snow and pushed it onto his face, completely covering his glasses.

Blindly he stood up and shook the snow off of his glasses. Glaring at her, he stormed ahead, chasing the only bit of color he could see moving in the white world his poor vision created.

"Alright, that's enough," Sakura held up her hands defensively. "Sasuke? Sasuke, no! Game over!"

She shrieked yet again, laughter mixing in with her screams as he scooped her up and tossed her back into the snow.

"I win." Sasuke smirked triumphantly before peppering her face with icy kisses.

"You're a pain in the ass."

"Uh-huh," he murmured, his kisses warming up the more he pressed all over her face.

"Worse than Naruto."

"Okay, that's just insulting." Sasuke withdrew from her and fell on his back. The both of them laid there on his front yard in comfortable silence.

Sakura's let out a shaky exhale and groped around, reaching for Sasuke's hand. As soon as she grabbed his jacket, he adjusted his arm so that she could slip her fingers into the spaces between his own.

Eventually the cold would become unbearable, but for now all she wanted was to exist in the moment.

* * *

The back of his neck felt cold. He should have ignored his mother, but when he was getting ready to head over to Sakura's house she called him into the kitchen and sat him down for a haircut. He was lucky enough to escape with the bangs that fell over the left side of his face but his mother gave him no choice about the rest of his hair.

Pulling off his beanie, Sasuke ran a hand through his spiky hair. His head felt so much lighter. It was going to take a while to get used to having short hair again. But it would probably take less time than how long it took to get used to Sakura's hair changes.

He sat at the bottom of the staircase and untied his boots. He set them neatly by Sakura's wet sneakers and her wet clothes piled on the tile at the front entrance. She must have stripped completely naked as soon as she got home when they split up to take hot showers after messing around in the snow.

Sasuke scooped up the wet clothes and grabbed Sakura's laundry bag that she brought from school and took them to the laundry room. He had just started a load of wash when he heard Sakura's soft footsteps on the kitchen tile.

"Oh, thanks!" She thanked him, beaming up at him and Sasuke had to swallow. Sakura had flounced into her kitchen, barefoot and wearing nothing but tiny pink cotton shorts that peeked from below the white sweatshirt he had loaned her before winter break.

The combination of his old school sweatshirt from when he played basketball and her long hair was enough to remind him of what he wanted so much when he was seventeen. Back before he fucked up and made the wrong decision because he didn't want to risk anything.

"Wow, I must have taken a longer shower than I thought." Sakura giggled, standing on her toes and sinking her fingers into his freshly cut hair. "I haven't seen your hair like this in a _looong_ while."

"Uh-huh." Sasuke placed his hands on her hips and lifted her up on top of the dryer. He knew just how long. He had started growing it out around the same time Sakura had chopped all of hers off.

Right after her final recital.

"I brought your stuff over," he mumbled, cupping Sakura's elbows. She reached over and hooked her fingers through the belt loops of his jeans. She tugged him closer until he stood between her legs.

"Kind of wish you didn't." Sakura scrunched you her nose in distaste. "Now I have to pretend I actually care about working on my paper when we could just fool around all day."

"You want to goof off?" He slid his hands down from her elbows and onto her thighs. He rubbed the tops of them, finger tips flirting with the hem of her shorts.

"Not like that," She laughed. "Unless you wanna hop back in the shower right now. Karin says shower sex is shit but that it's the cleanest for period sex."

"Oh. I didn't know you were, uh, on it." The night before they had kept their touches to sweet kisses that punctuated their discussion. Sasuke had set up boundaries for the night.

"Unfortunately, I'm synced up with Ino. It just started." Sakura rolled her eyes and hopped off the dryer. "Come on. We can hang out in the living room."

Sakura's definition of hanging out involved straddling him as he sat down on the wingback armchair in the living room. It was the same armchair Sasuke used to claim when the two of them and their friends hung out in her living room. The chair he used when his family was invited over.

God. He wasn't going to be able to sit in this chair normally again.

"You don't have to do that." Sasuke wrapped his fingers around her wrist, halting her hand in its path below the band of his jeans.

With her free hand Sakura unbuttoned his jeans. "I know." She pressed a wet kiss right below his jaw. "I want to." She dragged her lips down his throat, sucking and nipping. "So let me do what I want Sasuke."

"Well, alright," Sasuke groaned as she wrapped her hand around his cock, "if that's what you want."

Sakura stroked him, building a nice even rhythm, dragging her thumb across his slit in the upstroke and smearing his precum on his shaft to assist in the glide of her hand. When Sakura tightened her fist, Sasuke took hold of her hips and gripped them tightly as his hips thrust upwards into her hand.

With her free hand Sakura cupped his face, keeping her mouth on his as his moans rolled against her tongue.

Sasuke could almost feel himself toppling over the edge. Just a few more pumps, a thrust or two and—

"Did, did you just stop?" Sasuke stammered, eyes wide in shock.

"Yup." Sakura nodded and cradled his face in both of her hands and kissed him slow and deep. "Relax. I'm going to finish you. Eventually."

"Are you really trying out edging right now? In the middle of your parents' living room?"

"Maybe." Sakura's shoulders shook from restrained laughter. "You're honest to God _pouting_ right now!"

"Finish me off." Sasuke scowled, the back of his neck heating up. He wasn't pouting!

"We have time." Sakura sighed and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck. "I've always wanted to do this."

Sasuke sighed, his head falling back against the top of the armchair. "Frustrate me sexually?"

"No!" Sakura twirled the short strands of hair on the back of his neck with her fingers. "I meant like," Sakura licked her lips, "we would tell our parents we had a project or something but really we were just sneaking kisses. Or we would offer to run to the store when they forgot something but really we just wanted an excuse to be alone without them watching us and being, you know, _them_. Is that weird?"

No, it wasn't. Because that's exactly what Sasuke had wanted for them. Back in high school. Now. He had known Sakura had been interested in him for a while but she made it sound like...

"How long have you wanted that for?"

"Hm?" Sakura cupped the back of his neck and leaned in so that she could rest her forehead on his. "It's kind of embarrassing to be honest. Fourteen maybe? I don't know. I know in middle school I started thinking about it more 'cause that's when everyone started pairing off but when I started to take it more seriously, I started realizing that for me I could only think about you and well, that was frustrating as hell…"

Frustration was something he could relate to. He had years of dealing with the irritation of wanting something he shouldn't. That same frustration had him focusing on ways to avoid her instead of on something more progressive in regards to their relationship.

He was such a dumbass in high school. He had deprived himself of so much.

Sakura wrapped both her hands around his shaft again and started to stroke him.

So, _so_ much.

"You're so dirty." Sakura's giggles were muffled against his shoulder.

"What?"

"I mean, you're mostly incoherent but you say some things that are just absolute filth." At the confused scowl Sasuke gave her she rolled her eyes. In a breathy voice she moaned in an imitation of him, "Tighter...tighter like your—"

Sakura gasped into his mouth when he shut her up with a kiss, cradling her face in his hands. There was a stutter in her movements as she returned his kisses with just as much hunger. Sasuke couldn't even feel disappointed when she dropped his cock in favor of looping her arms around his neck and pressing her body closer to his as if she needed to anchor herself.

"You're going to get dirty doing that," Sasuke warned her as Sakura took to rubbing against him. His precum continued to dribble out, spreading all over the front of her cotton shorts.

"Hm?" Sakura murmured from the crook of his neck, pressing wet kisses. "I'm fine with that."

_Alright then_. Sasuke's hands slid down from her ass to the backs of her thighs and kept her pressed against him as he stood up from the armchair and carried her to the couch. He nestled between her thighs and went back to kissing her long and deep.

Sakura sighed softly into his mouth and he felt a tingle run down his spine causing him to grip tighter onto the strands of hair curled around his fingers. He liked the way the pink strands looked wrapped around his long fingers. Liked how Sakura's green eyes sparkled a little more, full of mirth and warmth, when he curled his fingers in her hair and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs.

"_I started realizing that for me I could only think about you and well, that was frustrating as hell…"_

_So much fucking time wasted_, Sasuke huffed inwardly. He palmed a small breast, swirling his thumb around a peaked nipple. Sakura gasped when he scraped his teeth against her neck. She wasn't going to be happy when she found all of the kiss marks he was leaving behind, but Sasuke couldn't find it in him to give a shit. If she didn't want to be completely marked up she shouldn't make all of those encouraging noises.

"Stupid period," Sakura grumbled before letting out a keening moan. Sasuke snorted, his restrained laughter fumbling the rhythm of his thrusts. He continued to rut against her clothed core, feeling very much like a high school brat as he pressed her deeper and deeper into the couch.

"Pad or tampon?" He asked her, hand stroking the skin around her navel, brushing against the jewelry dangling from her bellybutton.

"What?" Sakura's face scrunched up in confusion.

"What are you wearing?"

"Tampon, but why do you need to—"

Sasuke slipped his hand under her shorts and underwear. "'Cause then we don't have to worry about a mess."

He couldn't insert his fingers, but luckily for him—and Sakura—playing with her clit would be enough.

"You don't have to do that." Sakura smiled shyly up at him, batting her lashes at him. "I was just fine with you, you know…"

"What? With me dry fucking you into the couch?"

"That!" Sakura pointed at him, completely ignoring the fact her shirt—his technically, but she could keep it—was bunched up over her breasts. "That's exactly what I mean when I say you're dirty."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored her arguments, simply continued to press her deeper into the couch until she was unable to speak anymore. Her breath hitched and she clung tightly to him, moving against him. He slipped his hands under her ass holding her tighter against him as he grinded against her, sensing his release approaching fast.

"Shit! Sorry."

"At least you didn't get the couch." Sakura scrunched up her nose at the mess that was now on her thigh, shorts and stomach. She glanced over at Sasuke and burst into laughter at the panicked expression on his face. "You should see your face. I'm going to take another shower. Although…"

Sakura swung her feet around and hopped off the couch. She shimmied out of her shorts and handed them to Sasuke.

"You can wash those. I'm going to go clean up." She blew a raspberry at him and shuffled towards the stairs in only her underwear and keeping the shirt away from the mess on her stomach and thighs. He heard her mutter as she stomped up the steps,"I can't believe you came all over me. "

Sasuke laughed through his nose. Leave it to her to act all huffy and make him take care of her laundry. Using the other side of her shorts, Sasuke cleaned himself before tucking back into his boxers and jeans.

"Wash them in the sink first!" Sakura shouted over the sound of the shower running.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke headed to the sink in the laundry room and got to work cleaning her shorts before the semen could dry up and make it more difficult. As if he didn't know how to take care of this kind of a mess.

_So demanding._

For a moment he forgot how much of a bossy little princess Sakura was. Vividly, a memory of her in one of her recital outfits and a tiara as she stomped her tiny feet to get her way came to mind.

He knew that she would be like this. He had known her for over thirteen years and knew his girlfriend could be as bossy and annoying as she was sweet.

Girlfriend. _His_ girlfriend.

Sasuke grabbed a stain remover from a shelf above the machines and sprayed it on Sakura's shorts and let them soak.

It seemed the universe did in fact align in his favor. He was going to continue being stuck to Sakura Haruno, but at least now it was in the way he actually wanted to be.

* * *

**Day's Notes:** that's the end of the fic dump. This is the most recent chapter and was just posted publicly. If you want to know how to access chapters early and exclusive fics you can find me on tumblr under pain-somnia or twitter as pain_somnia.


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